Daydreaming & Driving vs. Texting & Driving

 Posted on May 19, 2013 in Personal Injury

We've all been told not to text and drive because of the dangers that it presents to the driver, passengers, and people around the car. While that remains true, a recent study has found that it is five times more dangerous to daydream while driving than to text or talk on the phone. The Erie Insurance Group, an automobile insurance company, conducted the study on this phenomenon. Their Senior Vice President Doug Smith said, "The results were disturbing." The insurance company found that, in the US, 62 percent of all "distracted" driving accidents that resulted in fatalities were from people daydreaming. On the other hand, only 12 percent of the "distracted" driving accidents were from people using cell phones. The study was conducted by looking through data of 65,000 fatal car accidents that took place between 2011 and 2012. Of those car accidents, 10 percent were in the distracted driving column. From that 10 percent, they looked into the police reports to see if daydreaming or texting caused them. "Distracted driving is when you are doing an activity that takes your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or your mind off your primary task of driving," according to Smith. However, drivers who are involved in a distracted driving accident could have an easier time proving an accident caused by texting than one that is caused by daydreaming. Looking at phone data can help determine whether or not the driver was being careless when the accident occurred. If you have been affected by distracted driving, it is important to contact a lawyer. Call an experienced Illinois Car Accident Attorney.