Our Kentucky car accident attorneys just reported on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) latest campaign, “Stop the Texts, Stop the Wrecks,” to encourage drivers to cease the use of cell phones while driving. Now, the results of NHTSA’s newly released survey, “National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors,” show cell phone use is posing a significant danger to Americans on the roads. In fact, one in 11 fatal traffic accidents in 2010 were due to cell phone use. 

Even though 34 states, including Kentucky, have enacted some form of cell phone ban, the survey shows that Americans continue to talk on the phone or text while driving. In fact, over three-fourths of the respondents reported talking on their cell phones while driving. 

Ironically, while over half of those that use a cell phone or send a text message believe their driving performance is not affected, 90% said they would feel very unsafe if, when a passenger, the driver was talking on a handheld cell phone or texting. 

Under Kentucky’s cell phone law, which has been in effect for a full year, drivers face fines and court costs for texting while driving.Text messaging is prohibited for all drivers, and any use of personal handheld electronics is banned for drivers less than 18 years of age.The law makes the violation a primary offense. 

The Kentucky State Police reported that in 2010 56,589 automobile collisions were caused by driver inattention or distraction. Of those accidents, 159 were fatal. Driver inattention was the number one cause of accidents on Kentucky highways in 2010. 

Of the 6,002 drivers over 18-years-old interviewed for the NHTSA survey, those drivers least likely to use a cell phone were in the 65-year-old and older age group. Drivers aged 25 or younger were two times more likely than older drivers to read or send text messages. 

Perhaps the most disturbing finding of NHTSA’s survey is that respondents rarely mentioned traffic situations, personal safety, or state laws in their decisions about using phones while driving.The message appears to be that drivers still believe that as far as cellphone-caused accidents are concerned, “it won’t happen to me.” 

However, research and statistics continue to show that use of a cell phone while driving can lead to an accident. In fact, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), every 26 seconds an accident occurs as the result of texting or cell phone use.

Our car accident attorneys cannot say it often enough. Please focus on the highway and wait until you arrive at your destination to use your cell phone. Even the slightest distraction when behind the wheel of a vehicle moving over 55 mph can result in a devastating accident.