Distracted Drivers

Susy Owen

Attorney

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Fifty-three million people are expected to hit the road between Christmas day and New Year's Day. With all the new technology that's in our cars, drivers are focusing less and less on what's in front of them.

This year alone, 38 states proposed legislation to curtail distracted driving. Distractions come in many forms and may include dialing a number on your cell phone, looking at a billboard, choosing a CD or attending to children. Now factor in not just phones but Ipods and Blackberries, too. Distractions contribute to one out of four accidents. That is 4,300 accidents every day, resulting in one-and-a-half million accidents a year!

According to Jeffrey Spring of American Automobile Association, if you take your eyes away from the road in front of you for two seconds or longer, the odds of you getting into a crash or near-crash, double. While it's hard to imagine life without a cell phone, you increase the risk of having an accident by 400 percent every time you use your cell phone when driving. AAA says actual driving is becoming secondary to some people with potentially deadly results.