Statistics and Injuries due to Distracted Driving

 

Distractions while driving are often fatal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there had been about 5, 474 who got killed in vehicle crashes across the United States due to distracted driving in the year 2009. This does not include the 448,000 other individuals who got injured in such accidents. This meant that distracted driving brought around 16 percent of the fatal traffic crashes in that same year.

These staggering numbers include little children, the elderly and young adults. Los Angeles, not surprisingly, is one of the cities with the leading number of fatalities. According to the NHTSA records, in 2009 this highly urbanized location recorded the most number of accidents. 

Distraction while driving occurs when the driver of the motor vehicle attempts to do two things at the same time. Some of the samples of this nasty driving habit include using the cell phone (texting or calling), grooming, reading, or even thinking about other things aside from driving itself. Most of the time, such acts lead to collisions which should have been prevented.

During crashes, those inside the vehicle are susceptible to traumatic injuries. Two of the most common forms of this include the following:

Initial Indications of Traumatic Brain injury

A lot of accidents have been documented at the State of California. One of the possible reasons for this is the high road activity brought by tourism. This is also the primary element being blamed by authorities for their failure to implement the law and protect the citizens living within this location.

Due to the notoriety of California as a place prone to road accidents, it has actually landed in the list of the world’s worst places to drive in.

Based from the 2009 records of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), California topped the list of states with the most traffic fatalities in a year. Records show that in 2009 alone, there were 3,081 casualties in here. Los Angeles, one of its cities, also had the most number of casualties in the same year, with some 588 recorded traffic accident-related deaths. 

There is a great probability that the victims of traffic mishaps would sustain injuries that could debilitate them for life. One of the worst kinds of injury that they could incur is that of the traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

TBIis a type of ailment resulting from a strong blow to the head. It causes the skull to have fractures or have a crack. During the blow, the brain may bump against the skull, which could lead skull fragments to pierce the brain. Once the brain bleeds, or have its tissues torn or bruised, the victim could suffer from disrupted emotional or psychological functions.