Studies show increased cell phone use leads to auto crashes
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Cayuga County Sheriff David S. Gould stated that studies by the National Highway Traffic administration estimate that driver inattention and distraction are leading contributing factors in automobile crashes and near crashes. Those studies show that almost 80% of automobile crashes and 65% of near crashes occurred within three seconds of some type of distraction. The main cause of driver distraction is cell phone use.In 1985, there were about 91,600 cell phone subscribers in the United States; that number grew to over 197 million by 2005, and continues to grow. It is estimated that 70 to 90% of drivers in the United States use their phones while driving at least some of the time, and that at any one time 3 to 5% of drivers are talking on their phone.
This year, Sheriffs all across New York State, joined by many local police departments and State Troopers, took action against distracted drivers by focusing attention on cell phone and other driver distraction violations. From August 26th thru August 31st, Sheriffs' and other police agencies reported their enforcement efforts to the New York State Sheriffs' Association, to reinforce the enormous responsibility that every driver shares when operating a motor vehicle.
Sheriff Gould stated that cell phones distract drivers in several ways and all law enforcement officers have the responsibility to keep our roads as safe as possible for all those who travel on them. Our Distracted Driver Enforcement Effort exceeded our expectations: statewide, in this short time period over 2,200 cell phone ticket violations were issued, and over 600 tickets for other driver distraction violations were issued.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office participated in this Distracted Driver Enforcement Effort. These state-wide and local statistics will be presented to the Governor's Traffic Safety committee, and we would like this type of enforcement effort to be concurring and expanded in the future. Police officers know too well that tragic accidents happen when drivers do not pay attention, and allow their thoughts and actions to be diverted from the job of driving. We hope to raise awareness of the need to obey all driving laws and particularly those laws dealing with driver distraction. Sheriff Gould concluded by saying people traveling on our highways is one of our highest and most important concerns.
Posted in Accidents & Personal Injury • Auto Accidents