Academy Educates Upstate New York Students about Distracted Driving

June 28, 2012 (Press-News.org) Before school got out for the summer, the Rome Free Academy took a day to educate its students about the dangers of texting and using a cell phone while driving.

One hundred students had a chance to use a simulator that shows how dangerous distracted driving can be. Students got behind the virtual wheel and texted while trying to avoid obstacles that appeared on the screen. Also on display was a car that was destroyed in a car crash involving a distracted driver.

Distracted Driving: A Dangerous Behavior

A visual, manual and cognitive distraction, such as texting, talking on a cell phone or eating takes a driver's attention away from the road and can easily cause an accident. In 2010, over 3,000 people died in crashes that involved distracted driving and 416,000 were injured.

Unfortunately, young people are more susceptible to distractions while driving. Of all drivers under age 20 involved in fatal crashes, 11 percent were distracted at the time of the accident. This age group also has a larger proportion of distracted drivers than any other age group.

Teenagers are aware of the risks distracted driving poses. Nearly 40 percent of them admit to being in a car with a driver who was using his or her cellphone in a way that put the vehicle occupants in danger. Perhaps fewer teens would text while driving if they knew that doing so while driving 55 miles per hour was equivalent to driving the length of a football field blind.

New York Distracted Driving Laws

The state of New York has some of the strictest cellphone laws in the nation. The state bans texting or emailing while driving for all motorists. Offenders face a $150 fine plus fees up to $85 and three violation points on their licenses. The state also bans hand-held cellphone use for all drivers, with a fine of $100 plus fees and violation points identical to those for texting. Both are primary offenses, meaning that law enforcement can pull drivers over just for hand-held cellphone use.

Distracted driving claims thousands of lives every year across the nation. Until drivers are better educated about the dangers of driving while distracted, this number is not expected to change. If you or a loved one has been injured by a distracted driver, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney.

Article provided by Trevett, Cristo, Salzer & Andolina P.C
Visit us at www.trevettlaw.com