Personal Injury Law

Govt: Distracted driving deaths fall in 2009

Encouragingly, the government says ?the number of people killed in crashes connected to driver distraction fell last year but still remain an epidemic.? (K. Thomas, AP, 9/20).
The Transportation Department released information showing that 5,474 people were killed in crashes reportedly due to distracted driving in 2009. This figure represents a 6 percent decline from the 2008 figure of more than 5,800 distracted driving deaths.

However, although the number of distracted driving deaths declined, so did traffic fatalities overall, and distracted driving fatalities represented 16 percent of al traffic fatalities in both 2009 and 2008.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says ?the problem is still an epidemic and the data could be the ?tip of the iceberg.? He says many police reports don't document whether distraction was a factor in vehicle crashes.? This informational release comes just before Transportation Secretary LaHood kicks off a second summit on distracted driving this Tuesday.

As a personal injury attorney, I urge all drivers to overcome the temptation to use distracting devices. All is takes is a split second to change your life, and lives of others on the road. Attentive driving is critical to the safety of our roads.

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog on September 27, 2010 (boomark / email).