The death rate for distracted drivers fell in 2009, according to a report by the US Department of Transportation. The Transportation Secretary announced that this was as a result of a national effort using federal and state regulations. The focus is on drivers talking and texting on cell phones. In 2009 over 5,000 people died, and a half of million were injured from collisions as a result of distracted drivers. We have seen, in Massachusetts motor vehicle collisions an increase in crashes where our clients were injured as a result of a distracted driver. Our prior blog articles have talked about the new Massachusetts anti-texting law.
Massachusetts will receive $4,610,369 in federal Safety Grant Funding for 2010. In Massachusetts, the motor vehicle death rate was down 16% from 2007 to 2008.