Greensboro Car Crashes Can Be Caused by Distracted Driving
By now, you’ve probably heard about distracted driving and Greensboro Car Crashes. Although much has been said about this complicated matter, many misunderstandings about distracted driving are still out there. You may remember that a few years ago on a new distracted driving law took effect in North Carolina. This new law created a strict ban on texting use while driving and higher fines which go up for repeat offenders.
Many people mistakenly believe that distracted driving refers only to talking on the phone or texting friends while driving. Just as the driving laws in North Carolina needed updating to address the realities of distracted driving, also our understanding of what distracted driving is needs a fresh look as well.
Distracted Driving-What is it?
Distracted driving means any thing which takes attention away from the duty of driving a vehicle for the driver. The thought that distracted driving refers only to calls or text messages on a cellphone while driving most likely comes from from the idea that those activities have become among the most common ways that people drive distracted, and cause Greensboro Automobile Accidents. It’s important to understand that they are not the only ways distracted driving happens. Drivers are distracted when they are changing the CD player, checking their watch, looking at the newest Ed Sheeran single on the radio, dolling themselves up for the big show, or even conversing with passengers in their car.
Distracted Driving – Is it really that Dangerous?
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times…the things which are distracted driving by definition take a driver’s thoughts and eyes away from the task of driving. When the proper amount of thought to the road is not given by a driver, the results can be horrible and devastating. Distracted driving can cause fatal crashes with cars, big trucks, and people walking on the road. It’s been noted that talking on a phone can make the risk of an accident increase four-fold, while texting creates makes it go up twenty-three times. Laws akin to the ones put into effect in North Carolina are meant to stop these horrible accidents, but they can only do so much.
Distracted Driving–What else can be done?
Besides the distracted driving laws that are being introduced in North Carolina and around the world and this country, it’s very important that people be told about what distracted driving really is and what behaviors should be discontinued. Millenials are the worst offenders. In fact, eighty-eight percent of drivers between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five showed and evidenced risky behavior while driving in the last thirty days, including texting and driving. For a group which grew up with technology that’s everywhere, it’s especially serious to be educated about risks of distraction.
The National Highway Transit Safety Association encourages parents to teach their kids about the serious problems caused by distracted driving. One of the best ways is to be an example to young folks. Technology firms are working to fight distracted driving by creating software that kills a phone when it sees a person is driving. For example, Google has introduced a Do Not Disturb While Driving app which silences incoming information when a person with an Google Phone is driving. Hopefully, the efforts together of parents, law makers, and tech firms will be enough to teach people about and stop accidents caused by the pitfalls of distracted driving.
Contact our Greensboro Car Accident Lawyers today if you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident in Greensboro, High Point or Asheboro.