Massachusetts statistics cited by the National Safety Council in its recent editorial regarding banning the use of cellular phones while driving; distraction is a problem in a large percentage of crashes. The Boston injury attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns has experience in cases where distracted drivers have caused car accidents where serious personal injury results. The Law Office of Neil Burns has represented Boston and Massachusetts area residents injured as a result of distracted drivers.
The National Safety Council demonstrated that distracted driving is a lethal problem. The National Safety Council estimates that a quarter of all crashes in the United States -- 1.4 million crashes, with 645,000 injuries -- involve cell-phones. Distracted driving kills 6,000 people a year nationwide, with cell-phones being the likely culprit in more than 40 percent of all fatalities.
In a recent visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke of a "deadly epidemic.'' It was noted that if any other activity caused the deaths of 6,000 people per year, it would be banned overnight.
Laws aimed at restricting cell-phone usage in cars are inching their way across America, state by state, the Boston Globe reported. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 25 states ban texting while driving. Seven states and the District of Columbia ban drivers from talking on handheld devices
Currently, Massachusetts is working out details of a bill that would ban drivers under 18 from talking on cell-phones and sending text messages. But it remains unclear, however, whether lawmakers will apply those same restrictions to adults.
