Mobile Phone Related Accidents on the Rise for Kansas City Traffic Legal Professionals

Folks who use their mobile devices in the driver's seat are only conducting their daily business and don't mean harm to others. Rush hour in Kansas City is a difficult task enough, but can quickly switch to involve lawyers and disaster when you add the distraction of a cell phone. Using a smart phone isn't so smart when they create interruptions and potential disaster. The sheer numbers of accidents directly caused by a driver distracted with their cell phone is very high, estimated to be 1.6 million each year. Distractions are not all cellular telephone linked, but cell phone distractions represent a major problem.

Statistics Concerning Using Mobile Devices and Driving

A smart person will look at the statistics and obviously see the risks of using a cell phone behind the wheel. Making the roads safer for all has been a serious task for Kansas City traffic attorneys and lawmakers alike. A little fact that will completely shock you is that the average time it takes to interact with a text message is 5 seconds, which is like driving 55 mph, blindfolded, down the span of a football field. Talking on your cell phone while driving is dangerous enough, but texting is definitely more dangerous. 94% of people asked support banning texting while behind the wheel, and 74% are in favor of banning cell phones behind the wheel completely. Hands-free cell phone alternatives don't appear to raise those facts.

The basic studies on using a cellular phone while driving are unbelievable. If you ask a Kansas City traffic lawyer about using a mobile phone while driving, they will have some unsettling stories to tell. The National Safety Council reports that 1.6 million collisions per year occur as a direct consequence of using a cell phone while driving, and a massive 330,000 injuries from accidents develop from texting while driving. Texting while behind the wheel is 6 times more likely than driving intoxicated to cause a collision, and texting behind the wheel accounts for an unexpected 1 in 4 traffic accidents. These incredible studies and statistics should make people more cautious about using their mobile phones while driving.

Kansas Cellular Phone Restrictions and Regulations

Cellphone laws and regulations are continually changing. Kansas City traffic attorneys have a unique challenge in relation to cell phone regulations because the city shares a state line between Kansas and Missouri, linking the two states with roads and a huge metropolitan area. The Missouri side of the state line has no laws in place to control using a cell phone when driving. That is certainly going to change soon, and not only for the state of Missouri. Nationwide, the stats keep increasing, encouraging new laws concerning mobile devices behind the wheel.

Almost 66 % of US states have realized there are considerable dangers to using a cell phone while driving and have legislation regulating cellular telephone use while driving. Kansas is a state where using your cell phone while driving could result in high fines and attorney fees, despite the fact that you're stopped at a light or stop sign. While it's not widely known, Kansas is among 32 states that have laws or legislation prohibiting the use of phones while behind the wheel. This law reads that it is illegal for anyone to text and drive, and drivers under the age of 21 are prohibited from cellular phone use completely while they are driving. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, so make sure you understand what your local laws are.

Traffic Statistics Involving Young adults and Cellular Phones

When researching distractions on the road, drivers under the age of 21 are definitely the most affected. Ask any attorney in Kansas City and they will inform you they have seen some real traffic tragedies which involve teenagers who had been texting while driving. What's really stunning is that teens actually know better. It has been reported that a scary 94% of teen drivers know using their cell phone while driving could be harmful, but 35% admit to doing it nonetheless. To put it into perspective, texting and driving is statistically more unsafe than driving drunk.

Teenage drivers have many disruptions to face, but a cell phone can be deadly. It's an unfortunate fact known by every Kansas City traffic lawyer on each side of the state line that 21% of teenagers linked to deadly traffic accidents were distracted by their cell phones. Every day, 11 teenage drivers perish because they were preoccupied while texting and driving. Astonishing statistics such as this are the whole reason lawmakers are changing cellular phone laws. Responding to a text message or replying to FaceBook can hold off until the vehicle is in park.

Driving and Cell Phone Statistics from 2012

Pedestrians on their cell phones make up a rise in distraction related injuries, too. Kansas City traffic lawyers and lawmakers nationwide have experienced a surprising increase in accidental injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians that were distracted by their mobile phones. Washington University did a 2012 study on a few of Seattle's most hectic intersections. Final results indicated it took approximately two additional seconds to cross the street, and pedestrians were Four times less likely to look before they crossed the road. Two seconds isn't a lot of time, however the study demonstrated that a pedestrian is alarmingly distracted when using a cell phone.

2012 saw some staggering increases in mobile related collisions. Traffic lawyers in Kansas City saw 2012 as a year with a extremely high number of distraction related collisions, most of which were related to texting and driving. In 2012, there were 3,328 people killed in distraction-related car crashes, most of which included answering a mobile phone call or text message. It's stunning to learn that almost 50 % of all drivers on the road admit to answering their cellular telephone while driving and 58% of those drivers will continue to talk as they drive. Answering a phone call while you're driving can be very distracting, but trying to text while driving is significantly more risky.

stats 2012 Cellphones and Driving

Pedestrian-related injuries have been on the increase on account of cell phone distractions. While it's not likely something you consider, Kansas City traffic lawyers have seen a dramatic surge in pedestrian injuries and deaths related to cell phone use. In 2012, an analysis was performed on some of Seattle's busiest intersections. Researchers learned that pedestrians who texting are four times LESS likely to look before crossing the road and take typically two seconds longer to completely get through the intersection. We were all taught at an early age to look before we cross the street for safety, but a pedestrian on the cell phone is probably distracted.

The driving when using cellphone stats from 2012 were incredibly excessive. Traffic lawyers in Kansas City saw 2012 as a year with a extremely high number of distraction related crashes, many of which were related to texting and driving. Distractions like answering cell phone calls or text messages are the reason for 3,328 deaths that year. It has been reported that just about one half of drivers confess to answering their mobile devices while driving and 58% of them people continued to drive while talking. Text messages are substantially more distracting than phone calls, but both of them are risky when driving.

Teen Studies Driving and Mobile Devices

When researching distractions in the car, drivers younger than 21 are definitely the most affected. Ask any attorney in Kansas City and they will tell you they've seen some real traffic disasters that involve young people who had been texting while driving. The real sad truth is that these teens knew better. An astonishing 94% of teenage drivers said they knew whatever they were doing was hazardous and 35% admit to doing it regardless of knowing the potential risks. Statistically, texting and driving is even more unsafe than driving drunk.

Teenage drivers have many distractions to handle, but adding a mobile phone to the mix can become lethal. Traffic lawyers in Kansas City and attorneys nationwide acknowledge that 21% of fatal injuries involving teenage drivers were directly related to driving when using their cell phones. An astounding 11 teenage drivers die on a daily basis because they were texting and driving. Shocking statistics like this are the whole reason lawmakers are changing mobile phone laws. Responding to a text message or responding to FaceBook can wait until the vehicle is in park.

phones are distracting under any scenario. Being distracted by your mobile phone might require the assistance of a Kansas City traffic lawyer. Hopefully, these shocking statistics forces you to think twice about grabbing your phone while you're behind the wheel of a car. Drivers using their phones while in the driver's seat are becoming a national concern. Between 2012 and 2013, the number of mobile phone distraction-related deaths has decreased 6.7%. This just demonstrates that understanding is paramount to increasing the safety of our roadways.

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