It is difficult to ascertain the problem with drunk and distracted driving. Numbers do not fully allow comprehension of the massive problem, which goes beyond motor vehicle crashes, injuries and loss of life, and financial damage tolled.
The statistics bear this out as a still huge problem in every day America:
- In 2015, nearly 3,500 people were killed in crashes involving distracted driving.
- In 2015, nearly, 400,000 people were injured in crashes involving distracted driving.
- The 10,000 people who lose their lives due to drunk driving every year.
Those two categories alone account for well over a third of the 32,000 motor vehicle fatalities in 2015. Although there has been a crackdown, both on the legislative level and through police enforcement, for both drunk driving and distracted driving, crashes and injuries still happen, sometimes at an alarming rate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define distracted driving as anything that takes away from your concentration of operating a motor vehicle. There are three types of distraction that they cover: visual, manual and cognitive.
Visual distraction is akin to taking your eyes off of the road.
Manual distraction is akin to anything that makes you take your hands off the wheel.
Cognitive distraction is anything that takes your mind off of driving.
Distracted driving is dangerous. To whit, someone who takes their eyes off the road for five seconds while driving at 55 miles per hour has been visually distracted for an entire football field. This is about as long as it takes to send a text message.
While the percentage of individuals who use their cell phones to text or use the Internet while driving decreased from 2015 to 2016 by .3%, distracted driving still remains an ill, so much so that certain governmental bodies are passing legislation that bans the practice. If someone is caught, they face the possibility of a ticket.
For many who are involved in automobile accidents resulting in an injury, they may consider filing a personal injury lawsuit. This is not what is first considered typically but certain factors come into play that necessitate and financial windfall, as such from a court case.
Those factors can include:
Medical expenses. An injury received in an automobile accident can cause significant damage both in the short term and in the long term. What may start out as a hospital visit and a bill for thousands of dollars may turn into the tens of thousands if the individual needs rehabilitation.
It is also possible that an individual will develop a disability and be forced to miss time from work, which can range from a few weeks to indefinitely. This takes away from the individual’s source of income, which can cause hardship to a family, especially younger children.
Emotional damage and harm. An automobile accident is an emotionally devastating experience, especially if the accident is at a high speed or is unexpected. The emotions that surface during the incident and afterward can have a lingering effect on a person’s ability to function.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, which is accompanied by flashbacks, nightmares, and hyper-vigilance, can occur, resulting in lost time from work or inability to function. In these cases, emotional reparations may be necessary to help with the treatment.
Those looking to file a personal injury lawsuit would do well to contact a personal injury attorney. Personal injury attorneys are those well-versed in the legalities and issues of traffic accidents in their jurisdiction. A car accident attorney may be able to guide you through the process of submitting the paperwork, or better yet represent you in your fight against the insurance companies and the driver who cause the accident.
If you have lost a loved one in a car accident where the other driver was negligent, it is possible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death alleges that the other driver was negligent and that they were at fault for the car accident. Wrongful death lawsuits can lead to sums of money that will hopefully help financially with whatever the family needs.
Children injuries are also part of a lawsuit, when it occurs with personal injury. Children injuries can be significant, as their bodies are not as developed as a full grown human. Major children injuries and children injuries that result in disability can lead to a full on personal injury lawsuit.
