Distracted Driving Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Seeking a Free Consultation with one of Texas’ Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyers? Call the Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Reshard Alexander today at 713.766.3322.

Distracted driving refers to the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver’s attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehicles.^[1]

Cell phone use while behind the wheel is one of the common forms of distracted driving.^[2] According to the United States Department of Transportation, “texting while driving creates a crash risk 23 times higher than driving while not distracted.”^[3] Studies and polls regularly find that over 30% of United States drivers had recently texted and driven.^[4]^[5]^[6] Distracted driving is particularly common among, but not exclusive to, younger drivers.^[7]^[8]

Seeking a Free Consultation with one of Texas’ Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyers? Call the Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Reshard Alexander today at 713.766.3322.

A 2016 study^[4] found that nearly 50 percent of drivers admitted to, while driving, reading a text message, sending a text message, checking their phone for directions, or using social media. Overall, nearly 60 percent of respondents admitted to using their cell phone at least once while driving. Older age was strongly correlated with decreased cell phone distraction scores.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) discovered that 35 to 50 percent of drivers admit to using a smartphone while driving and 90 percent of drivers fear those who do.^[19]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2011 study found that 69% of respondent drivers between the ages of 18 and 64 admitted to calling on the phone while driving in the month before the survey and that 31% sent or read an email or text message.^[20]

Seeking a Free Consultation with one of Texas’ Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyers? Call the Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Reshard Alexander today at 713.766.3322.

The rate of incidents associated with distracted driving is growing in the United States. According to an NHTSA report, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 were injured in the United States from motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015. The report states that 80% of accidents and 16% of highway deaths are the result of distracted drivers. ^[34]

Incidents related to distracting driving have been particularly common among young drivers. In 2008, there were 23,059 accidents involving 16- to 19-year-olds, which led to 194 deaths. Of these deaths, 10 percent were reported to be caused by distracted driving. Throughout the United States, over 3,000 deaths and 416,000 injuries annually can be attributed to distracted driving.^[35] Driving while texting is about 4 times more likely to result in an accident than drinking while driving, while the risk of injury requiring hospital visitation is 3–5 times greater than for other types of accidents.^[36]