Driving IS as dangerous as you think
We’ve all been there. You’re driving down the road and you see the car in front of you swerving in and out of their lane. Are they drunk? Looking down at a phone? Trying to grab something out of the back seat? Whatever it is – the immediate thought of, “I need to get away from this person,” is normal.
Turns out, there is good reason to get nervous when you see dangerous driving – as motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of death for people ages 1 to 44.
According to a CNN news report, fatal motor vehicle accidents fall under the umbrella term of unintentional injury. Data shows that nearly twice as many people die from unintentional injury than from cancer. The last year that data is available – 2016 – shows more than 61,000 people died from unintentional injuries with fatal motor vehicle accidents listed as one of the top causes.
How dangerous is driving?
While it is something you do every day, it is rather dangerous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports around 32,000 deaths per year from car accidents with another 2 million hurt in crashes.
And while there are things you can do to try to stay safe – avoid drinking and driving, wear a seatbelt and pay attention to the roads – you sadly cannot control the behavior of another driver.
Stop texting and driving
It is against the law to text and drive in Colorado. If a police officer sees you driving recklessly and you are texting, you will likely receive a citation.
What makes texting and driving so dangerous is that the driver is taking their hands off their wheel, their eyes off the road and their mind off the task at hand – driving.
Even though it may seem like it’s just looking down for a few quick seconds, if you are going 55 mph – or faster – you will drive at least the length of a football field in just five seconds. A lot can go wrong over the length of a football field.
Dealing with the aftermath
Serious injuries – such as spinal cord injuries, brain injuries and broken bones – leave a person in a great deal of pain and suffering. Add to this bills that are piling up and for some the inability to work, and things can quickly spiral out of control.
When someone else makes the choice to drive dangerously and causes an accident, you are already going through enough. You shouldn’t need to also deal with the financial impact on top of everything else.
This is where an attorney can step in. This attorney can handle the logistics of holding the other driver accountable, so you can focus on your health and well-being.