Could Outlawing Distracted Driving Help Prevent North Carolina Auto Accidents?
We’ve talked a lot recently about North Carolina auto accident prevention on this blog.
This topic seems to be a lot more fecund and useful for auto accident victims than the standard reportage about crashes and fatalities and problems on the road. After all, even if you were recently hurt, your goal is to figure out what to do next – not necessarily to figure out what you should have done differently but can no longer do.
In other words, we need to focus on the future – not just for the general welfare but also for our own safety and wellbeing.
In that context, consider a recent bold move by the City Council of Bowling Green, Ohio, which proposed a law to outlaw distracted driving of any type. The consequences for violating the law would be relatively light: A $25 fine without any points against the license.
Even still, given that the vast majority of drivers engage in some form of distraction on a daily basis – be it listening to the radio or really anything that makes the mind wonder – some critics believe that the law is too draconian. Is it really fair to get a $25 fine for holding your cell phone while behind the wheel, even if you’re not reading a text or dialing somebody?
Although the distracted driving ban has not yet become law, it certainly has provoked heated debate both among Bowling Green Ohio residents and among national commenters and policy makers.
If you recall, this North Carolina auto accident blog has long talked about the subtle dangers of “minor league” distracted driving – e.g. chatting with friends in the car, flipping radio channels, day dreaming, etc. Almost all safety experts would agree that you should not text while drive or drive while DUI. But how dangerous are those “little things” that many of us do on a regular basis — “stuff” that makes our driving performance slightly degraded?
Obviously there are far fewer drivers who drive DUI than there are drivers who drive while slightly distracted by the radio or a conversation. So perhaps the damage done by this “minor league distraction” stuff is as great as the damage done by DUIs.
Counterintuitive speculation? Definitely. But look at the math:
For instance, let’s say that two out of a hundred drivers engages in DUI behavior every month. And let’s say that that behavior increases the likelihood of an accident by 5% for that time period. For comparison, consider that 95 out of 100 drivers engages in “less than ideal attention practices” behind the wheel (e.g. changes the radio, momentarily “forgets” about driving, etc.) And let’s say that those minor changes increase the risk for a crash by 0.5%.
Obviously, those numbers are just made up. But even in this hypothetical case, the “minor league distractions” are far more dangerous than the DUI distractions.
Speculation side, if you or someone you love needs help with a Charlotte auto accident case, connect with the team here at the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo now for help.
