Arkansas officials join forces to prevent traffic deaths

March 07, 2014 (Press-News.org) Arkansas officials join forces to prevent traffic deaths

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Already in 2014, approximately 30 people have died in fatal car accidents in Arkansas, according to preliminary data from the Arkansas State Police. Recently, state officials unveiled a new road safety campaign that is part of a nationwide effort to eliminate traffic fatalities from U.S. roads.

Representatives from several Arkansas agencies -- including the Highway and Transportation Department, the Department of Health and the Arkansas State Police -- met to at the Capitol on January 28, 2014, to announce the new initiative known as Toward Zero Deaths. The focus of the campaign will be to increase driver education on safety issues and to use crash data to identify areas of potential improvement on Arkansas roads.

Increased focus on distracted driving

While some Arkansas roads already have already been updated with certain safety features, such as median barriers and rumble strips, the Toward Zero Deaths initiative will focus on other ways of helping to keep Arkansas drivers safe and eliminate fatalities. One major area of focus will be to address the issue of distracted driving. Nationally, more than 3,000 people per year are killed in distraction-related car accidents, according to federal data, and hundreds of thousands more are injured.

While distraction in any form can be deadly while behind the wheel, the use of cellphones and other handheld electronic devices while driving is a particularly troubling issue -- because not only is it extremely common, it is also extremely dangerous. This is because, unlike many other distracting activities that people engage in while driving, the act of texting or dialing on a handheld phone involves all three types of distraction: manual, visual and mental.

Distracted driving laws in Arkansas

Nationwide, 41 states -- including Arkansas -- have passed laws that ban texting while driving for all drivers. However, the details of these laws vary considerably from state to state. In Arkansas, people of all ages are prohibited from texting while driving. Furthermore, drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 are prohibited from using handheld phones, while school bus drivers and all drivers under the age of 18 are barred from cellphone use of any kind, whether handheld or hands free.

People who have been hurt in a crash with a distracted driver in Arkansas may wish to speak with an attorney about the possibility of taking legal action to pursue compensation for their losses. In many cases, injured crash victims are able to obtain financial compensation to offset their lost wages, medical expenses and other damages.