What Percentage of Distracted Drivers are Teens?
Distracted driving is one of the biggest dangers on American roadways today. Everyone seems to agree on this point, and yet drivers continue to respond to emails and texts, watch videos, eat, and generally do other activities that take their eyes off the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that driver inattention is the primary contributing factor for crashes and near-crashes countrywide. According to NHTSA, looking away from the road for two seconds nearly doubles the likelihood of a car crash.
Are members of certain age groups more likely culprits, or is the problem equally spread across all demographics? Learn below about the rates of distracted driving in different age groups, and contact a seasoned dedicated Orange County distracted driving accident lawyer if you or a loved one has been injured in a traffic accident in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Distracted driving crash rates by age
NHTSA data shows that teenagers are, in fact, the biggest danger on U.S. roadways in terms of fatal crashes caused by distracted driving. According to NHTSA’s recently-released fatal crash data for 2017, while teenagers (people aged 15 to 19) represented only six percent of the total drivers involved in fatal crashes on U.S. roadways, they accounted for nine percent–half again–of all distracted driving crashes. Teenagers made up 3,255 of the 52,274 drivers involved in the 34,247 total fatal crashes recorded in 2017. Eight percent of the teenaged drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time of the crash. In contrast, only four percent of drivers aged 50-70 involved in fatal crashes were actively distracted at the time of the crash. Teenagers, moreover, represented 16% of all the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes who were using cell phones, specifically, at the time of the accident.
The rate of nonfatal crashes is even more stark, particularly when looking at sources other than NHTSA for estimates. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use is connected to an estimated 1.6 million car crashes across the U.S. each year. Sixty percent of crashes involving teens are connected to distracted driving, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and as reported by CNBC. Notably, AAA figures show a much higher rate of distracted driving in connection with accidents than do the NHTSA data.
NHTSA’s data show that the number of fatal distracted driving crashes has been relatively consistent over the past five years, with just over 2,900 distraction-affected fatal crashes per year between 2013 and 2017. The number of crashes persists despite numerous state laws being passed that restrict and severely punish cell-phone use while driving.
Experienced Montgomery Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a distracted driving accident in New York, seek experienced legal help to evaluate your potential claims by contacting the seasoned and effective Montgomery personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Taran M. Provost, PLLC for a free consultation at 845-675-3243.
