There are many dangers on the roadways. In Washington and other states across the nation, roadways are filing with vehicles as summer vacation is in full swing. Whether individuals are traveling by car, traveling to the airport or are a tourist in town, traffic tends to peak during the summer months. And, with more traffic comes more accidents. While drunk driving is always a concern during this time of year, a more pressing issue is distracted driving.
Based on current data, there were more than 3,000 deaths in accidents that involved distracted drivers in 2017. While this is significantly less than the 10,000 deaths caused by drunk drivers that year, cellphone use while driving is becoming more of a concern than drunk driving.
Every day, roughly nine people are killed in accidents caused by distracted drivers. In other words, about 9% of fatal crashes involved a driver that was focusing on something other than driving. In many cases, this is talking or texting on a cellphone, accounting for 14% of all distracted-driving fatalities in 2017. Other causes are eating, talking to occupants in the vehicle, touching the radio or adjusting the controls.
No matter the cause of the distraction, when a driver is no longer focused on driving, it can cause a dangerous situation. Thus, when a car crash occurs, victims should take the time to explore the cause, questioning whether or not a distracted driver is to blame.
When a driver fails to uphold their duty to drive safely, this could risk the lives of many on the roadways. A distracted driver could cause much harm and damage to others following a crash, and those harmed could hold them accountable for these injuries and losses.