idgAlthough the problem may seem mediocre, driver inattention is a dangerous factor of many road collisions and near-collisions. A year-long study was conducted to prove the danger of this common mistake.
Many people routinely drive while performing other small tasks, such as eating, drinking, talking on cell phones, putting on makeup, and simply retrieving objects such as CDs. These small incidents are the cause of 80% of collisions, and it only takes about three seconds for such an act to turn into a tragic accident. The study performed showed 100 different motor vehicles, with 241 different drivers, being recorded by video cameras and other sensors. Many of the recordings documented actual collisions and near-collisions. One video showed a man driving off the road, simply asleep at the wheel. One of the more frightening videos caught a near-collision where the driver nearly hit a small child on a tricycle as the driver was dialing a cell phone. Young drivers, aged 18-20 are 400% more likely to be a part of inattention-related accidents.
If none of this was proof enough of the need for safe driving, a striking story from New York proves the case quite well. A tractor-trailer driver lost control of his rig when he reached for a water bottle on the floor of his vehicle, and then proceeded to skid off the highway, overturn, and then completely block a highway over the crest of the hill. A family vacationing in a mini-van could not avoid the overturned vehicle and quickly became a part of a serious collision, leaving the family with severe physical deformities and a child with irreparable brain damage.
If you or someone you know has been injured due to a negligent driver, please feel free to consult a personal injury lawyer such as Stipe, Harper, Laizure, Uselton, Belote, Maxcey & Thetford in Oklahoma City or the auto accident lawyers at The Bradley Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri.
