Carolina Needs To Know: Distracted Driving Statistics

Many people in North Carolina and South Carolina are aware of the dangers of distracted driving and driving while using a mobile device. However, despite understanding the dangers of distracted driving, individuals often don’t see the danger in talking “just this once” or “making a quick call.” Today is national No Phone Zone Day – what will it take for you to turn your phone off while driving once and for all?

Here are some shocking distracted driving statistics and cell phone driving facts:

• The National Highway Safety Association reported that 6,000 people died because of distracted driving in 2008.
• A Nationwide survey found that eight out of ten Americans think that some sort of cell phone and texting laws are a good idea for reducing the number of car accidents and injuries.
• The same survey found that 75 percent of respondents agreed that cell phone and text messaging laws should apply to all drivers – not just teens or commercial drivers.
• A University of Utah study found that talking on a cell phone while driving reduce motorist reaction times as much as having a blood alcohol level of 0.08 (the legal limit in North Carolina).
• A Virginia Tech distracted driving study found that truck drivers are 20 times more likely to cause an accident if they text behind the wheel.
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that drivers who talk on cell phone are four times as likely to cause a car accident in which they are seriously injured.
• Distracted driving is a factor in 25 percent of all car accident cases – and police have reason to believe it is often under reported.
• A Carnegie Mellon study found that talking on a cell phone reduces driving-related brain activity by 37 percent.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law. We maintain office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC), on East Elizabeth Street, and we have handled thousands of cases in which victims got hurt or killed in car, truck, train and motorcycle crashes caused by others' negligence or carelessness.

We serve every area of North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, Edenton, Raleigh, Durham, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Halifax, Northampton, Greenville, Goldsboro, Havelock, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, Wilson, Ahoskie, Currituck, Camden and the Outer Banks towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Manteo, Corolla, Currituck and Dare. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Firm attorneys Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, our firm has been named a North Carolina "Best Law Firm" for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.

Best Personal Injury Lawyers in North Carolina