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Follow up: Anti-distracted driving laws may not be helping

On Behalf of | Apr 13, 2018 | Car Accidents |

To follow up on a previous post, despite the fact that many states, including Kentucky, have laws designed to deter distracted drivers, a recent study suggested that these laws may not be having the impact officials and the public wanted to see.

This study, which was put together by a company that tracks car usage for automobile insurers and companies like Uber, examined the habits of 4.5 million drivers on the road. Altogether, these motorists drove 7.1 billion miles. During their time on the road, the majority, 2 out of 3, used their phones on at least one occasion while driving.

Perhaps more disturbingly, the length of time per phone call also increased to over 4 minutes, which was a 5 percent hike over last year. This increase comes in the face of several states’ passing tougher laws designed to punish this sort of behavior. Also, one has to assume that many of the people who are using their phones are well aware that, on the whole, traffic deaths are on the rise.

Some experts have suggested that a well-placed public awareness campaign, aimed particularly at commuters coming home from work, may be effective at turning this trend around. Unfortunately, though, some motorists simply are not going to learn their lesson until their habits cause a serious or even fatal car accident.

Holding such motorists financially accountable for the injuries they cause may reinforce that distracted driving is both unsafe and unacceptable. However, following through with a personal injury or wrongful death suit against an alleged distracted driver is not an easy thing to do. A Kentucky victim of a distracted driver should therefore consider seeking out the help and advice of an experienced personal injury attorney.

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