Roads in South Carolina are plagued with car accidents that can occur due to a variety of circumstances, but when an accident is caused by negligent behavior, it can leave victims and their families with unanswered questions.
Officials and families of victims are trying to shine a light on distracted driving, which took more than 3,000 lives in 2010. The U.S. Transportation Department says drivers are 23 times more likely to crash when they text and drive. As these statistics plague the roads, family members are setting up nonprofits, such as FocusDriven, which concentrates on bringing more attention to the dangers of cellphone use while driving. Officials have set up a campaign called distraction.gov in order to address the issue as well.
Although distracted driving has been brought to light due to cell phone use, it has been an issue for a long time, officials say. Distracted driving can come from eating and drinking while driving, tuning the radio or even talking to a passenger. Police detailed a tragic crash that killed three people on U.S. roads due to distracted driving. A husband and his wife were killed and their two young sons paralyzed after a sport utility vehicle crashed head-on into their car. The driver of the SUV lost his wife in the crash. He was apparently trying to find a DVD in his car when he swerved into the oncoming lane.
When drivers make the negligent choice to be distracted by other circumstances while driving, they are inevitably putting their life at risk as well as those around them and may be held liable for their negligent behavior.
