According to a 2012 comprehensive report from the National Coalition for Safer Roads and the car safety advocate group FocusDriven, the causal factors of red light violation incidents are many. Notably, 12% of such incidents are a result of distracted driving.
While we have all heard the dangers of distracted driving, reading the statistics on car accidents and how drivers get distracted is alarming nonetheless. According to the report, of the 12% of red light violation incidents that were a result of distracted driving, 39.3% were distracted by cell phones. Additionally, 17.5% of the violations were caused by drivers being distracted by eating, smoking, putting on make up, or even reading.
Perhaps most alarming of all, a staggering 17.5% of red light violations due to driver distraction was because the drivers were simply “looking away”.
These statistics were gathered by analyzing sample findings from traffic cameras that covered 19 different communities in the U.S. over the span of three months. While the use of traffic cameras is known to be somewhat controversial, the NCSR and FocusDriven report illustrates how it can save lives.
Jason Stone Injury Lawyers encourage all drivers to stay focused while on the road!