Kansas City accident highlights the dangers of distracted driving

June 19, 2013

In May 2013, a teenage driver was involved in a tragic distracted driving accident in Kansas City. The Highway Patrol reported that texting while driving contributed to the accident that proved to be fatal.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Driving around Kansas City, it is relatively easy to spot drivers who are not giving their full attention to their surroundings. These drivers may be talking with other people in the car, texting on their phone, looking at a map, eating, or even grooming themselves. When drivers are engaged in such behavior, they could inadvertently cause a car accident.

A big problem in Kansas

According to the most recent statistics from the Kansas Department of Transportation, failure to give full time and attention was listed as the contributing cause for 23 percent of all accidents in 2009. Distracted driving numbers were broken down by the following:
- 416 accidents were caused by cell phone use; 3 people died and 198 people were injured
- 201 accidents were attributed to other electronic devices such as DVD players, GPS units and stereos; 2 people died and 97 people were injured.
- Other distractions like reading the newspaper, eating, putting on makeup and dealing with children caused 1,083 accidents; 5 people died and 585 people were injured.
- The majority of distracted drivers involved in collisions were between the ages of 16 to 24 years old.

To combat the distraction problem, Kansas lawmakers passed an anti-texting law for all drivers in the state in 2011, according to The Kansas City Star. However, cell phone use is still allowed and that same year, 473 accidents were caused by people using their cell phone while driving.

Three types of distraction

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are essentially three types of distraction and these are cognitive, visual and manual. Some activities actually incorporate all three since drivers often have to take their hands off of the steering wheel, look down at maps or electronic devices, and are often thinking more about what they are trying to do while driving, rather than about what is happening on the road around them.

One study points out that when a driver uses a hand-held device such as a cell phone, 37 percent of the brain's activity is diverted to the conversation taking place on the phone. Another study says that hands-free devices, such as headsets, do not lower the risk of driving distraction and still another study reports that accidents resulting in injury are four times more likely to happen when a driver is using a hand-held device.

Drivers need to educate themselves on the dangers that distractive driving creates, not only for themselves but for others on the road around them. Items should be put out of reach and drivers should refrain from activity that will take their eyes, hands or mind off of what they need to be on. If you are a victim of a distracted driver you should consider meeting with an experienced car accident attorney for assistance seeking appropriate compensation.

Article provided by Goza & Honnold, L.L.C.
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