Parents in Georgia and across the nation are expected to be role models for their children in myriad ways. This includes driving behaviors. While parents will tell their children not to text and drive, the parents’ behavior frequently says otherwise. This information stems from a survey about the problem of distracted driving. People who are injured or lose a loved one in motor vehicle accidents should be cognizant of this as it can be beneficial when pursuing compensation in a lawsuit.
Although there have been numerous campaigns to warn against distracted driving, more than two of every three parents who took part in this survey have read text messages while driving. Around half have written text messages while driving. Parents who were born between 1981 and 1996 – millennials – and older parents had the same rate of writing texts while driving. The accident rates for these groups were similar. The author of the study said that the rise in motor vehicle accidents has largely been due to distractions behind the wheel.
There were 435 parents who were asked to take a survey about distracted driving. 52 percent were millennials. 48 percent were older. The millennials average age was 33; the average age for the older people was 44. All had a minimum of one child below the age of 14. They answered questions about emails, text messages, use of social media and navigation apps. The more distractions a parent had, the greater chance there was of an accident.
The study also found that 57 percent of older parents believed there was never a time when texting and driving was safe. 52 percent of millennials said the same. One quarter of millennials used features on their devices to lower the incidence of distracted driving. 17 percent of older parents did the same. 10 percent of those in the older group had had one or more crashes in the previous year. 16 percent of millennial parents said the same. Independent of age, two of three parents stated they used their devices less when they had their child in the vehicle.
The obsession with a handheld device knows no age limit and people are constantly checking their device and using it when they should not. After an auto accident, people who have suffered injuries or lost a loved one will have personal and financial costs that must be addressed.
