According to news sources, a new study released by the National Traffic Safety Administration Thursday claims that there was a significant increase in the amount of drivers that texted or sent emails while behind the wheel despite efforts by states across the country to reign in on the practice.
The study employed multiple methods to reach its conclusions such as reportedly observing drivers at designated stop lights and intersections as well as conducting a national phone survey.
The NHTSA study concluded that an increase from 0.6 to 0.9 percent of drivers were using some form of hand-held device while behind the wheel. The survey also found that among 21 to 24 year old drivers, about half said that they had texted while driving before.
This comes as states nationwide are trying to enforce laws against texting while behind the wheel, with Pennsylvania most recently joining the ranks of states that have a ban on texting while driving. States with similar bans on the practice reportedly experienced a significant dip in cases of texting while driving.
As a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles, I have seen many instances of distracted driving cause severe devastation both to those who participate in activities such as texting while driving, as well as those who are victims of crashes caused by distracted drivers. As a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, I hope that the conclusions of this research will lead to safer roads.