Grand Junction Distracted Driving Accidents Lawyer

DISTRACTED DRIVING KILLS MORE PEOPLE IN COLORADO THAN DRUNK DRIVING

Drunk driving has been a problem in the U.S. for decades. Within recent years, however, distracted driving has become a big new threat to public safety due to the rise of the smartphone and other mobile devices.

This fact is tragically apparent to law enforcement officials in Colorado, who saw about 200 more people killed as a result of distracted driving (and as opposed to drunk driving) in 2013.

“DUI’s been the leading cause [of fatal traffic accidents] for years and years, and now, all of a sudden, you’ve got distracted driving, not paying attention to what’s going on on the road, surpassing DUI,” Lt. David Edmondson with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has explained.

To combat this trend and start to get distracted driving on people’s radar as a dangerous and deadly behavior, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has given out a number of grants to local law enforcement agencies – like the CSPD – in order to combat distracted driving via:

• Increased enforcement efforts, such as staffing more patrols to target distracted driving
• Enhanced public education efforts.

WHY DISTRACTED DRIVING IS SO DANGEROUS

Distracted driving essentially causes the same impairments as drunk driving, researchers have found. In other words, when motorists are distracted – by their cellphones, because they are eating or because they are doing anything that deflects their attention from the roads, they generally experience:

• Perception impairments – In fact, distracted driving can contribute to a phenomenon known as “inattention blindness,” in which people fail to take in what they are seeing because they are focused on other things. While texting and driving obviously contributes to inattention blindness, so too does talking on hands-free devices – this is not widely known by motorists.
• Delayed reaction times – When drivers are distracted, their braking responses alone can be slowed down by as much as 18 to 24 percent. In the event they are traveling at higher speeds and/or on busier roadways, this can be enough to cause an accident, especially at intersections, around highway work zones, etc.

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CONTACT A GRAND JUNCTION CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY AT KILLIAN, DAVIS, RICHTER & KRANIAK, PC

If you have been injured in any type of motor vehicle accident, don’t hesitate to contact the Grand Junction car accident attorney at Killian, Davis, Richter & Fredenburg, PC.

Our lawyers are experienced at fighting for you and for your fair treatment and are committed to defending your rights in any legal setting. Our skilled legal team has proven time and again that our attorneys, who are dedicated to helping you personally at every stage of your case, are highly capable of bringing an experienced approach to personal injury cases, resolving them as successfully as possible.

To receive professional advice regarding your case, contact us to set up a free, no obligations initial consultation. Schedule this meeting by calling (970) 241-0707 or by completing our online contact form.