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Study Uncovers Major Driver Distractions

Have you ever looked at the cars beside you while at a traffic light or stop sign? You have probably seen people eating, talking on their cell phones and maybe even applying makeup. These distractions may seem harmless enough, but a study has found that being distracted for as little as three seconds can significantly increase your risk of being in a car accident.

According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes occur within three seconds of some form of driver distraction. The study tracked drivers using a video camera and sensor. Researchers found that driver inattention causes car accidents and that young motorists are more likely to be involved in these collisions.

Reaching for an object inside the vehicle, by far, was the most dangerous driver distraction noted by researchers. In fact, reaching for an object increases your risk of an auto accident or near-accident by nine times.

Most people already know that talking on a cell phone and text messaging are both dangerous activities while driving, but the study found that many of the following activities also caused drivers to become inattentive and increased their accident risk by three times:

• Reading
• Applying makeup
• Dialing a handheld device
  

Drowsiness was noted as a problem among drivers. According to the study, drowsy drivers are four times as likely to have a collision or near-collision. As far as the study results, driver drowsiness was a factor in over 22 percent of the crashes and near-crashes recorded by researchers.

The study found that drivers ages 18 to 20 were four times as likely to have distraction-related accidents and near-misses than drivers over the age of 35.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an Orlando car accident caused by a distracted driver, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced Orlando car accident attorney at the Francis Law Group at (888) 521-2721 for more information.