Cellular Phones Behind the Wheel Present Difficulties for Kansas City Traffic Attorneys
Individuals don't realize how destracted they become as soon as they pick up their cell phone while driving. Getting through Kansas City rush hour can be nerve-racking and unpleasant, but the added disruption of a cellular phone can quickly create disasters and attorney fees. Smart phones may have improved our everyday life and levels of communication, but they are very distracting and hazardous in the driver's seat of a car. Statistics present an astonishing 1.6 million accidents annually are directly related to using a mobile phone while driving. Distractions are not all mobile correlated, but cell phone distractions represent a huge problem.
Driving While Using a Mobile Kansas Laws and Regulations
Over fifty percent of US states have laws in place to combat the hazards of using a cell phone while driving. If you're driving through Kansas, regardless of whether you're stuck in traffic, at a stop sign or at a stop light, making use of your cell phone could result in having to hire a legal professional and/or significant fines. Lots of people do not realize Kansas has this type of law in place because it's not widely publicized. The law reads that it is illegal for anybody to text and drive, and drivers younger than 21 are prohibited from mobile use completely while they're driving. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, so make sure you understand what your local laws are.
Cellular phone laws and regulations are constantly changing. Lawmakers and traffic lawyers alike have a special situation when handling Kansas City because it's split down the middle between Kansas and Missouri. The Missouri side of the state line has no laws in place to control using a cell phone behind the wheel. That is certainly going to change soon, and not just for the state of Missouri. With cellular telephone related injuries and fatalities growing in number, pressure is on lawmakers to make some changes.
Statistics Concerning Using Mobile Devices and Driving
There are many incredible statistics on driving while using a cell phone. Kansas City traffic attorneys and lawyers throughout the united states are seeing what can happen when folks use their cell phones while driving, and it's not pretty. The National Safety Council reports that 1.6 million crashes per year occur as a direct result of using a cell phone while driving, and a enormous 330,000 injuries from accidents are caused by texting while driving. An unbelievable 1 in 4 car accidents in the United States are caused by texting and, amazingly, driving and texting is actually 6 times more likely to cause a wreck than drunk driving. With statistics like that, people should wait until the vehicle is in park before they use their cellular telephone.
The information on driving when using a cell phone speak for themselves. Kansas City lawmakers and attorneys are working hard to set up safer roads by changing these statistics and strengthening traffic law safety concerning phones. When you do the math, you'll learn that answering a text message actually distracts your attention from the road for approximately five seconds, and at 55 mph, that's like driving the duration of a football field while blind-folded. It is a undeniable fact that texting while driving is the most dangerous cell phone activity. Due to these hazards, 94% of people polled think texting while driving ought to be completely banned and 74% support banning all cell phone use while driving. Research indicates that hands-free phone usage doesn't really change up the statistics much, either.
Teen Driving and Cellular Phone Statistics
The most distracted drivers on the streets are the ones under 21. Kansas City traffic lawyers have seen their share of disasters involving teenagers who are using their cell phones while behind the wheel. The real sad fact is that these teens knew better. An astonishing 94% of teenage drivers said they knew whatever they were doing was unsafe and 35% admit to doing it inspite of understanding the potential risks. Young drivers have to know that texting while driving is statistically more perilous than drunk driving.
Teenage drivers have many distractions to handle, but adding a mobile to the mix can become lethal. Kansas City traffic lawyers understand that 21% of fatal accidents involving teens, were related to being distracted by their cell phone. It's shocking to learn that 11 teens die every single day because they were texting while driving. Outrageous statistics like this are the whole reason lawmakers are changing cellular telephone laws. Waiting until the car is in park is the ideal time to answer a text message or answer your FaceBook.
2012 Driving With Cellular Telephone stats
The driving while using cell phone stats from 2012 were remarkably high. Traffic lawyers in Kansas City saw 2012 as a year with a extremely high number of distraction related collisions, many of which were directly related to texting and driving. In 2012, there were 3,328 people killed in distraction-related car crashes, most of which included answering a cellular telephone call or text message. Many experts have reported that nearly fifty percent of drivers confess to answering their phones while driving and 58% of them people continued to drive while talking. Text messages are considerably more distracting than phone calls, but both of them are unsafe when driving.
Pedestrian injuries are rising because of cell phones, also. Contrary to popular belief, Kansas City attorneys also have seen a rise in pedestrian catastrophes and fatalities involving cell phones. Research involving a number of Seattle's busiest intersections were carried out in 2012. The results indicated it took an average of two extra seconds to cross the street, and pedestrians were 4 times less likely to look before they crossed the street. While that probably won't seem to be a lot, it makes a huge difference when a pedestrian isn't being attentive as they cross a busy street.
2012 Driving With Mobile Studies
2012 saw some overwhelming increases in cell phone related car accidents. Traffic lawyers in Kansas City saw 2012 as a year with a very high number of distraction related accidents, most of which were related to texting and driving. That year alone saw 3,328 distraction-related deaths in automotive accidents. Up to 50 % of all drivers on the road confess to answering their cellphones while driving and another 58% will continue to drive while on the phone. It can be very distracting to answer a mobile while behind the wheel, but it is statistically more risky to text while driving.
Pedestrians on their phones make up an increase in distraction related accidents, too. Contrary to popular belief, Kansas City attorneys also have seen an increase in pedestrian disasters and fatalities involving cell phones. Washington University did a 2012 study on a few of Seattle's busiest intersections. Researchers discovered that pedestrians who texting are 4 times Less inclined to look before crossing the street and take an average of two seconds longer to actually get across the intersection. Two seconds isn't a lot of time, but the study showed that a pedestrian is treacherously unfocused when using a cell phone.
Using a cell phone is invariably distracting. Texting or using your mobile phone while driving could lead to very serious crashes and may need the help of a Kansas City lawyer. Using your mobile phone while trying to drive can end life as you know it in the blink of an eye. Drivers using their mobile devices while in the driver's seat have become a national problem. It's good to know that educating people on the potential risks have minimized the number of deaths in 2013 by 6.7%. Educating the people on the hazards of using a cell phone while behind the wheel helps to reduce the potential threats.
For more facts about traffic lawyers in Kansas City check out this url.
Kentner Wyatt, LLC 435 Nichols Rd #200 Kansas City, MO 64112 (816) 527-0010 Kentner Wyatt, LLC
