According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drivers under the age of 20 had the greatest proportion of deadly car accidents attributed to distracted driving in 2009. Because of the high number of young distracted drivers on the roads, it seems fitting that 17-year-old singer Justin Bieber would endorse a safe driving phone application.
Bieber signed a deal last month with a Boca Raton company that is releasing "Drive Safe," a software that prevents text, email, and keyboard use on a cell phone in a car going more than 10 miles per hour.
Driver distractions pertain to anything that keeps drivers from being 100 percent focused on the road. This includes the use of cell phones, navigation systems, reading maps, applying makeup, looking for CDs, and eating. According to the NHTSA, the number of deaths linked to distracted drivers rose from 10% to 16% from 2005 to 2009. However, teenage drivers are not solely to blame. While the number of total distracted drivers was greater in the under 20 age group, drivers aged 30-39 had the highest percentage of cell phone use out of the distracted drivers involved in deadly auto crashes in 2009.
The U.S. Government website, distraction.gov, offers useful information regarding distracted driving accident statistics. According to the site, people who drive while using hand-held devices, such as cell phones, quadruple their chances of being involved in a car accident serious enough to result in injuries. In terms of delayed reaction time, the use of a cell phone while driving is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol level of .08, the level at which one is considered to be legally intoxicated in the United States.
If you have been injured in a car accident, seek legal help quickly in order to protect your rights. Contact an experienced car accident attorney to review your case. Call the attorneys at Law Offices Cytryn & Velazquez today for a free consultation toll-free at 1-877-853-7466.
Ryan Hutson, Esq. is a Coral Springs auto accident lawyer at Law Offices Cytryn and Velazquez, P.A. Our office is located in Coral Springs at the Bank of America building on University Drive and Shadow Wood. We represent clients from surrounding cities, including Coconut Creek, Tamarac, Parkland, Pompano Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. We also help people all around South Florida, including Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
The firm's founding partner, Dan Irving Cytryn, is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer handling personal injury cases in Coral Springs for 30 years. He has received a 10.0 rating on Avvo, a lawyer rating service, which is the highest rating given for a lawyer. He is also rated the highest ability and ethics rating, "AV", by Martindale Hubbell, a company rating lawyers for more than 100 years.
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