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Distracted Driving

— a familiar household term. It may be one of the most casually thrown about terms when it comes to driving behaviors, but it certainly causes some of the most serious accidents. The worst part is that accidents involving the behavior are not decreasing in number despite the fact that many states have enacted laws regulating those who choose to participate.

According to national statistics, out of all motor vehicle collisions that occur each year, around 80 percent of them are caused at least in part by a distracted driving behavior. While we noted that a lot of states have enacted some form of distracted driving laws — most targeting cellphones — some worry that the laws aren’t doing what they should. It isn’t the laws they have a problem with, it is the penalties.

Drunk driving is another regulated traffic behavior. The truth is that this other dangerous activity is a lot closer to distracted driving then one might think. Both are as dangerous as the other. When a driver is paying attention to their cellphone, grabbing something from the floor, turning around to yell at the kids, putting on makeup, eating lunch or reading a book — yes, investigative reports have found that this occurs quite frequently — it can cause the exact same results as drunk driving.

So why does drunk driving have such harsh penalties and distracted driving doesn’t? Some wonder if the penalties written into the laws shouldn’t receive a second look. If you need a more personal story to understand the ramifications of these accidents, we’ll share an accident story involving a young teen in our next post.

Source: KSL, “Victim of distracted driving: ‘two seconds’ changed my life,” Mike Headrick, Feb. 29, 2013

If you have been involved in a car accident caused by a distracted driver in New Jersey, our law firm provides powerful advocacy to victims.