Distracted driving is dangerous and can cause serious harm on the roadways. It is important for drivers to be familiar with what distracted driving includes so they can avoid it and for victims to be familiar with what they can do to protect themselves when they have been harmed by a careless distracted driver.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that most car accidents driver distraction is the leading cause of the car accident. During 2014 in Kentucky, there were a total of 53,500 car accidents caused by distracted driving that resulted in 14,000 injuries to car accident victims and 169 fatalities. A personal injury claim for damages or wrongful death claim can help injured car accident victims and surviving family members of loved ones killed by a distracted driver.
There are three main categories of distracted driving behavior including manual distraction which removes the driver’s hands from the wheel; visual distraction which removes the driver’s eyes from the roadway; and cognitive distraction which removes the driver’s mental focus or attention from driving. Texting while driving is considered the most dangerous form of distracted driving because it combines manual, visual and cognitive distraction. Texting while driving is illegal in Kentucky.
Driver distraction can refer to common behaviors including talking with passengers or attending to children or pets but just because they are common makes them no less dangerous. As a result, victims of distracted drivers need to be familiar with the legal options available to them and how they can protect them and hold a distracted driver liable.