According to the National Safety Council, 2016 was the second year in a row that the United States saw a significant increase in highway fatalities.
The preliminary estimate for last year is 40,200 fatalities, which is a spike of 6% from 2015. Over two years, the death toll has risen 14%—the largest two-year increase since 1964.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that distracted driving is responsible for over 3,000 deaths annually. The actual figure is most likely higher since police reports do not always record distraction as a factor in car accidents.
Due to the rise of traffic deaths related to driver distractions, the National Safety Council encourage motorists to put their cell phone away before driving. Research shows that the mere act of thinking about the conversation, not holding the phone or dialing, that causes driver distraction.
Last November, NHTSA issued a set of proposed guidelines for makers of handheld electronic devices to reduce the possibility of distraction. They included ways to pair the devices to a car’s infotainment system and the addition of a “driver’s mode.”
The following are several ways to help prevent a distracted driving car accident:
If you suffered an injury in a Colorado car accident caused by a distracted driver, contact our Boulder personal injury attorney at Klein Frank, P.C. today.