Texting While Driving is New #1 Cause of Driving Deaths

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Texting While Driving is New #1 Cause of Driving Deaths

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

Although texting while driving is illegal in Chicago you can most likely find a few people texting on their phone during your daily commute. Ask any Chicago auto accident lawyer and they will tell you it doesn’t matter how old you are, texting while driving is highly dangerous because you are completely taking your eyes off the road for several seconds and check their phones often during one trip. Many experts have compared it to drunk driving and many Chicago auto accident attorneys have represented the victims of texting accidents in Chicago. And while drunk driving has been the leading cause of driving deaths for American teenagers for years, a recent study shows texting while driving has now replaced drunk driving as the number one cause of teenage deaths on the road in the U.S.

Performed by the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, this recent study found that more than 300,000 teens are injured and over 3,000 are killed per year as a result of sending SMS messages while driving. Drunk driving is responsible for 282,000 injuries and 2,700 deaths per year. Conducted by Dr. Andrew Adesman, the Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and other investigators, the study was conducted between September 2010 and December 2011. A total of 8,947 teenagers were studied and an estimated 49% of boys admitted to texting while driving and 45% of girls admitted to it as well.

These numbers are particularly alarming due to the fact these teens have only been driving for less than three years, and in some cases, less than one year. While texting while driving is a bad idea for drivers of all ages, these young drivers are in the formative years of their driving habits and if they start their lives texting behind the wheel chances are they will continue to do so until an accident or a number of tickets finally dissuades them.

If you find yourself a victim of texting while driving, or any other cell phone related accident, contact a Chicago auto accident lawyer immediately. These cases must be represented right away for it is often difficult to find a person at fault for using a cell phone unless it is seen by a witness or a police officer. You are entitled to damages as the victim; call a Chicago auto accident attorney today. 

Steve Malman

Malman Law’s founder Attorney Steven Malman has over 30 years of experience handling personal injury, nursing home, medical malpractice, truck accidents, car accidents, premises liability, construction, and workers’ compensation cases in Chicago, IL.

Years of experience: +30 years
Illinois Registration Status: Active and authorized to practice law—Last Registered Year: 2024

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