As this blog has discussed on previous occasions, distracted driving is a problem on Kentucky’s roads. It can and often does lead to serious car accidents that leave residents of this state seriously and permanently injured.
A recent report published by the AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety largely confirmed this conclusion, finding that each year, 3,500 died on America’s roads because of distracted driving, and 390,000 more victims suffer injuries serious enough to be reported.
However, the report also made some interesting observations, including the fact that cars themselves can be a source of distracted driving.
For decades, people have had things like radios, power windows, air conditioning and the like in their automobiles. While all of these conveniences make traveling more pleasant, the can divert a driver’s attention from the road long enough to cause an accident.
The advent of more recent technology, and the increasing demand for that technology, has only made this problem worse. For instance, many vehicles now come equipped with systems that enable a person to navigate or make a telephone call. Again, these technologies are convenient, but they also take a driver’s attention off of the road.
Sometimes, drivers operate under the faulty assumption that because the equipment comes with the car, it cannot possibly cause distracted driving as could, say, an aftermarket device. In fact, in some cases, a device one purchases after buying a car takes less time to use, and thus the driver has more time with his or her eyes on the road.
In any event, it bears repeating that distracted driving, no matter the cause, is careless behavior, and a driver who hurts someone because they were distracted behind the wheel can be held financially accountable for their actions.
