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Recently, I saw a driver on Military Highway in Norfolk, Virginia completely stop while in the center lane of traffic and attempt to turn right into a business across the right lane of traffic. Chaos ensued when the car behind the stopped car became angry at the blatant disregard for traffic laws and began to lay on the horn.
It’s these types of scenarios and the accidents and injuries that occur when people text while driving that has prompted all rest stops in New York to become texting zones. In the hopes of stopping people from driving distracted from texting, New York has put up giant roadside signs alerting drivers to the next text-friendly rest stop. A new campaign has been launched to repurpose rest stops into 91 texting zones along state highways. Nearly 300 signs will advertise the newly repurposed zones by prominently displaying information about how many miles are left before the next “Text Stop,” along with messages like “It Can Wait.”
Texting while driving may seem trivial compared to something like drinking while driving but it is just as deadly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2010 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes. That added up to 3,092 people killed and 416,000 people wounded. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
As experienced Virginia (VA) car accident lawyers we have created a free manual to give drivers information about distracted driving injuries.
{Click here to get the Distracted Driving Risks and Common Factors report}
As Virginia car accident attorneys we know that one of the most tragic consequences of a distracted driving crash is the loss of a loved one. This is why our firm participates in the “End Distracted Driving” program. We travel to area high schools and give seminars on the human impact that distracted driving can take. Other forms of distracted driving include eating, changing CD’s, radio stations, applying makeup and interacting with passengers and pets. But text messaging, checking e-mail and facebook still remain the mother of all distractions.
CT