Distracted Driving Crash Illustrates Need for Safety

9/21/2010

Within hours of a government report showing that thousands of people continue to be killed and injured by distracted drivers, an incident in New York City helped drive home the point that such incidents are far more than just statistics.

A report in the New York Daily News featured an accident involving a 19-year-old who was arrested for striking a 53-year-old Chinese restaurant deliveryman while she was sending text messages on her cell phone.

The report added that the man suffered head trauma and was hospitalized in critical condition - and that despite the life-threatening injury, the teen was only charged with misdemeanor reckless driving while also being ticketed for driving while using a cell phone.

Other states have far more serious penalties against those who cause accidents while driving distracted. For example, Utah law allows motorists to be treated the same as drunk drivers if they kill or seriously injure someone in a distracted driving crash.

One thing that motorists who cause an accident can expect in the short term is higher auto insurance rates because of the damage such incidents cause to their safety records.

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