Distracted driving includes texting while driving, talking on your smartphone while operating a vehicle, eating, playing with the radio, looking at a GPS system, or any activity that takes your hands off the steering wheel and your eyes off the road. Distracted driving also includes driving while under the influence of alcohol and driving while drowsy.

The statistics are overwhelming. Distracted driving is a leading cause of death, catastrophic injury, and permanent harm to vehicle drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Distracted driving statistics at-a-glance

According to End Distracted Driving, the following agencies and organizations found that distracted driving is killing relatives, friends, and the general public.

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 37,461 Americans were killed in driving accidents in 2016. This number is a 5.6% increase from 2015. One in 10 of these fatal vehicle accidents and more than one in seven injuries were due to distracted driving. 3,477 people were killed and more than 390,000 were injured, in 2015, due to a distracted driver.
• National Safety Council. 27% of car crashes in 2015 were due to drivers using a cell phone while driving. The NSC believes that this number is low because many accidents aren’t reported.
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Teens are three times as likely to have a fatal accident as drivers 20 years-of-age or older
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. 58% of teenage vehicle accidents are due to distracted driving
• University of Utah. Driving while distracted is directly comparable to driving with an illegal blood alcohol content level.

Driving while distracted is dangerous for three reasons according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Both hands should be on the steering wheel so the driver can respond to normal traffic and to emergency traffic situations. The one second it takes to remove your hand from the smartphone or other device can be the difference between life and death.
• Your hands should be focused on the road in front of you and looking at the rear-view and side-view mirrors.
• Drivers whose mind is on their conversation, the food they’re eating, or other stimuli are not thinking about driver safety.

Drivers going 60 mph are traveling 88 feet per second. In less than four seconds, a driver travels the length of a football field.

If you were injured by a distracted driver or a loved one was killed by a distracted driver, you need to move quickly. At Banks and Jones, our Knoxville lawyers are highly respected trial lawyers. We are Ready 2 Win your case by investigating what type of distraction caused the accident. We fight to get you all the compensation you deserve. To speak with an experienced Knoxville car crash attorney, please phone us at 865-546-2141 or complete our contact form.