Distracted Driving’ Category
Personal, Work-Related Reasons Major Factor in Cell Phone Use While Driving
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Persons in the Houston, Texas area who choose to use the cell phone while driving very likely do so depending on the importance of the person who's making the call. According to the results of a telephone survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, persons are also much more likely to receive a cell phone call while they are driving if it is an important communication.
Persons are also more likely to answer a phone call if it is from the office, or is related to work in some way, or if it is an important social call. However,...
Survey Finds Wide Difference in Motorists’ Safety Beliefs and Driving Practices
Saturday, January 7th, 2012
Nearly all motorists in an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey believed that driving under the influence of alcohol was dangerous, but over the past year, approximately 14% had operated a vehicle while intoxicated. It's not just drunk driving. Many Americans seem to be aware of the dangers of distracted driving, running red lights and failure to wear seat belts while driving, but a significant number of them continue to engage in such dangerous driving behaviors, without a thought to the risks involved.
For instance, close to 94% of the persons in the survey were quick to say that using...
Half of Motorists Surveyed Want Texting Offenses to Result in License Suspensions
Saturday, January 7th, 2012
A recent survey by Poll Position found that approximately 50% of registered voters were in favor of suspension of license privileges for persons found texting while driving.
The survey consisted of more than 1,000 motorists, and found that more than half were in favor of such laws. Younger respondents were more likely to disagree with any law that requires suspension of license privileges for texting while driving offenses. At least 67% of older motorists above the age of 65 were in favor of the law, while just 39% of younger voters between 18 and 29 were in favor of any...
NTSB Calls for Full Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a complete ban on the use of cell phones, including both hand-held cell phones and hands-free sets while driving, but Houston car accident lawyers do not expect Texas to take up that recommendation anytime soon.
The National Transportation Safety Board call came after the agency released its findings into a truck accident in Missouri last year that killed 2 people. In 2010, a pickup truck driver crashed into a tractor-trailer on a highway, triggering a chain-reaction crash that included two school buses. The pickup driver and one of the occupants...
Traffic Accident Fatalities Down in 2010, but Distracted Driving on the Rise
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
Last year, traffic accident fatalities hit a record low since 1949, dropping to just over 32,000 deaths. However, distracted driving has evolved into a major factor in traffic accident fatalities.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were a total of 32,885 highway accident fatalities recorded in the country last year. That was a rate of 1. 10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a decline from 1.15 fatalities the previous year. However, the agency also recorded an increase in pedestrian and motorcycle accident accidents.
Another fact that really stands out from the data however is that for...
National Campaign to Target Texting and Teen Drivers
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
One of the most at-risk groups for distracted driving accidents, as any Houston car accident lawyer will tell you, are teenage motorists. The federal administration is launching an effort to change that.
A soon-to-be launched national campaign involving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, state Attorney Generals and advertisers will target texting by teenage drivers. The campaigns are being created by the Ad Council, and are aimed at motorists aged between 16 and 24. The campaign Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. has been created pro bono by a New York-based advertising agency. Ad Council believes that the campaign could...
Auto Makers Need to Minimize Distractions in Cars
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
When it comes to distracted driving, many automakers talk the talk, but the commitment ends there. Automakers including Ford and General Motors have all kinds of anti-distracted driving campaigns underway, but these companies continue to introduce more and more distracting gadgets in their automobiles to attract consumers.
For instance, Ford's Sync voice-activated system allows a driver to read text messages and dial phone numbers without taking his hands off the steering feel. Unfortunately, the distraction exists even when a motorist has his hands on the wheel at all times. At the same time, Ford conducts anti-distracted driving clinics for high...
Survey Indicates Heavy Motorist Cell Phone Use
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
According to a survey by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, lack of awareness about the dangers of texting and the use of cell phones while driving is definitely not a factor in distracted driving accidents. More than 90% of the persons in the survey said that they knew of the risks of texting while driving, and more than 88% of drivers believed that cell phone use increased their risks of being involved in an accident. However the knowledge of those risks did not limit these practices at all.
According to the survey, 35% of drivers...
Texas Transportation Institute Study Indicates Higher Texting-Related Accident Risks
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Text messaging while driving doubles a motorist’s reaction time, severely increasing his risks of being involved in an accident. Those findings come from a study by the Texas Transportation Institute, and the researchers are warning that the accident risks of such behaviors are much greater than we currently appreciate.
Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute put 42 motorists through a test track course. They found that when the motorist was driving at 30 mph, a 5-second delay in reaction time caused the motorist to travel 220 feet. When the motorist was driving at 60 mph, the delayed reaction...
Mobile Phone Apps Increase Risk of Accidents
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Any Houston car accident lawyer, who is concerned about the distraction to teen drivers from texting devices and cell phones, will be interested in the results of a new survey. The survey conducted by a student of the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that more young motorists are now using mobile phone apps while driving, distracting them from their driving duties.
The survey of 93 students of the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that approximately one third of the respondents admitted to “sometimes” using mobile phone apps, while about one in 10 admitted to “always” or...
