10 Oct Accident Fatalities are Rising as Safety Tech Improves – Why?
As the years go by, better safety features in automobiles start to become less luxury and more standard. Luxury vehicles are also equipped with safety technology that far exceeds what we had just a decade ago. Blind spot detectors, lane departure control, and, of course, self-driving vehicles are paving the way for total safety on the road.
At least, that is the expectation, but data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seems to say otherwise. According to their findings, 2016 will most likely see about 10% more fatal car accidents in America than 2015, and 2015 conclusively say a 7.2% increase over 2014. Despite safety feature advancements on the rise, traffic collision death tolls are rising as well.
WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION?
There seems to be two things to blame for the rise in fatal car accidents. The first reason may simply be that there are more people on the road and for longer periods of time. Curbed gas prices means more motorists are hitting the highways for vacations, weekend getaways, or just to make more errands around town. Increase the number of drivers and the number of crashes will increase purely due to probability.
The second reason is completely preventable and unaccepted: distracted driving. Motorists new to the road and veteran drivers alike are feeling too confident in their ability to drive and do something else at the same time. More often than not, that secondary and reckless activity is using a smartphone for texting, watching videos, or even punching an address into a navigation program. Groups like the National Safety Council (NSC) and the NHTSA estimate that anywhere between 20 to 40% of all motor vehicle crashes involve at least one driving uses their cellphone at the time of collision. To say it simply: distracted driving needs to stop before we can really call our roads safe.
If you have been injured in a car accident in Alabama that you think was caused by a distracted, negligent, or intoxicated driver, Jaffe & Erdberg, P.C. and our Birmingham car accident attorneys can help you create a claim that pursues maximum compensation. You should be given damages for medical bills, repairs, lost wages, emotional trauma, and more. We intend to fight for every last penny.
Contact our firm at any time to connect with our team.