Every year, thousands of accidents in New York can usually be attributed to distracted driving and, to be honest, there are several kinds of distractions for drivers today. A person could be distracted by the buttons on their car’s stereo, their pet, other occupants in the vehicle, cell phones, and even by events happening outside the car. Unfortunately, cell phone use while driving-especially texting-can cause a driver to lose control of their vehicle and even kill someone else.
One New Yorker realized the serious dangers of driver distraction when a former co-worker, and friend, was seriously injured in a car accident caused by someone using a cell phone. He admits that he, himself, has been guilty of using a cell phone for various purposes while driving, but has now taken the pledge to not continue the behavior.
An estimated 1.6 million car accidents were caused by using a cell phone while driving, according to a 2010 published study from the National Safety Council. Anyone in New York City likely knows of someone who was injured or killed because someone was on their phone. The man whose friend was injured laments that laws relating to someone engaging in such behavior are not more stringent.
What is interesting about this personal view is the fact that the man did not seem to understand the risk he was posing until this happened. Sadly, many drivers will also fail to see the dangers associated with distracted driving until they are personally involved. For many of those drivers, they just might be the ones responsible for the death of another victim.
Source: Long Island, “Distracted Driving: The High Price of Texting While Behind the Wheel,” Robert Ottone, Feb. 20, 2013