Distracted driving and personal injury accidents seem to go hand in hand in New Jersey and across the U.S. When this behavior is combined with the inexperience of teen drivers, crashes with injuries and fatalities are common. Researchers seek to analyze the problem to devise strategies to reduce the frequency and make the roads safer for everyone.
According to a study by the University of Michigan, teens who were in a vehicle with a teen friend reported to their parents that the driver lacked focus on the road. An estimated 60 percent of parents said their children informed them that this was the case. The information was accrued through a poll. In it, almost 900 parents who had a teen between 14 and 18 gave information about their worries when the teen rode in vehicles with friends in the same age range. For more than 30 percent, this happened a minimum of once or twice each week.
Parents took certain steps to try to ensure greater safety. 40 percent said they ordered limits on highway trips. Almost half did so if there were at least two teens in the vehicle. An explicit concern was a vehicle that had many teens in it. Almost 40 percent thought a vehicle that had two or more teens was a major safety issue. For 45 percent, loud music was worrisome. More than 40 percent expressed reservations about cellphones.
The danger of teens on the road and distracted driving is a significant problem. When there is an auto accident and people suffer an injury, the circumstances may be critical to a successful legal filing. After an accident, people who have been injured or lost a loved one might benefit from legal advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer to pursue compensation.