Recent Deadly Rise in Car Crashes (Bad Driving Habits)

Increase of Bad Driving Habits Leads to More Car Crashes

It feels like every other day you pass an accident on your daily commute, with distracted driving, road construction, and impaired driving, it isn’t hard to see why. The Asheville area has seen several lane or road closures recently on I-26 and I-40 that have drivers taking unfamiliar paths and jamming up traffic on the tighter roadways. The data that AAA released for 2021 confirms that since the pandemic there has been a rise in traffic accidents. NHTSA estimates that 42,915 people died in car crashes in 2021 — a 10.5% increase from 2020.

There are a few common reasons for this increase, firstly, distracted driving. One of the biggest parts of distracted driving is cell phone usage, 92% of people agree that texting while driving is extremely dangerous. However, 26% of people admitted to texting while driving in the 30 days prior to AAA’s survey. AAA says that even though people know that they are engaging in risky behavior, the possibility of getting caught and ticketed or something bad happening to them has little impact on most driver’s decision-making.

 

Another aspect that has led to this nationwide increase in accidents is impaired driving. Impaired driving is broken down into two subcategories, substance-related impairment, and drowsy driving. Everyone should know that getting behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is not a good idea. Many people however don’t realize how dangerous it is to drive when tired. Around 18% of the people surveyed said they have driven when they were so tired, they couldn’t keep their eyes open. A little over 7% said they’d driven after drinking enough alcohol to qualify for a DUI and 5% admitted to using THC before getting behind the wheel.

While drivers acknowledge that certain activities are dangerous to do while driving, they still continue to do them. The most common offenses are driving 15 mph or more over the limit (50.7%), driving while talking on a mobile device (37.4%) and driving while reading a text or email on their cell phone (36.2%). 28.2% admitted to running at least one red light and 22.9% admitted to tailgating or weaving through traffic. Dr. David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety stated that, “We must be aware of the serious consequences of dangerous driving behaviors and change course”.

Asheville Auto Accident Lawyers 

Here at Fisher Stark, P.A., we hope that everyone will have a safe driving experience this holiday season and think twice about practicing unsafe driving habits. Leave your phone off while driving, drive defensively, and never get behind the wheel impaired. You may think that it is a small risk or that you won’t get caught but an average of more than 46,000 people die every year in car crashes. Take your time, make sure you are focused, and your phone can wait until you have reached your destination.

We know however, that car accidents and injuries happen because of other people’s negligence and bad decision making. Often, the cost of someone else’s negligence means a victims’ life is changed forever due to a catastrophic injury. It also means changing the lives of the victims’ loved ones as well.

If you or a loved one has been seriously hurt or injured on the road, you need a strong advocate on your side and someone to make sure that insurance companies don’t take advantage of you. If you live in Asheville, North Carolina, or any of the surrounding areas, and have been injured from a car or truck crash, please call the personal injury lawyers at Fisher Stark, P.A., for a free consultation at (828) 505-4300.