Earlier this year the Missouri Department of Transportation challenged Missouri drivers to put down their cell phones. In announcing this campaign to end distracted driving, MoDOT said that Missouri drivers are 23 times more likely to be in a serious crash when a texting driver is involved.
Yet, while the majority drivers acknowledge the dangers of distracted driving, a substantial percentage of drivers still do it, as well as engage in other reckless actions that could cause fatal car accidents.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released its 2016 Traffic Safety Culture Index, which is an annual measure of how U.S. drivers feel about safe driving. Conducted last summer, the online survey included 2,500 licensed drivers.
In this most recent AAA survey, eight out of 10 drivers surveyed said texting or emailing on a cell phone while driving is a serious safety threat. Just about as many (78 percent) labeled it “completely unacceptable.”
However, four out of every 10 drivers reported that they had read or a text or email while driving within 30 days previous to the survey. A little more than 30 percent admitted they had sent a text message or email during this time as well.
Missouri Texting and Driving
About 70 percent supported a restriction on using hand-held cell phones while driving, and almost 90 percent wanted texting or emailing while driving banned. In Missouri, there are no laws against talking on a cell phone while driving. Texting and driving is banned for only drivers 21 years old and younger.
There was almost unanimous consensus against drunk driving, with 97 percent disapproving. But one out of eight of those surveyed owned up to driving at least once within in the last year when they were likely over the legal blood alcohol limit.
Running a Red Light Fairly Common
More than 90 percent of the drivers in the AAA survey said running a red light is unacceptable. At the same time, over a third admitted they did it at least once in the previous 30 days.
This was the ninth annual AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index survey. Unfortunately, the hypocrisy of drivers saying certain actions are unsafe while a good portion of them behave carelessly is a common theme between them all.
If you were seriously injured or had a family member die in a car or truck crash caused by another driver’s negligent actions, consult a motor vehicle accident attorney to review your legal options.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertising.
Authored by: Gray Ritter Graham posted in Blog on March 10, 2017