If it weren’t for Louisiana, Florida would be the state in the country with the worst record of distracted driving. Does this surprise you? This is all according to one study that measured a series of behaviors associated with distracted driving while the driver’s phone was in use and they were behind the wheel.

The behaviors they tracked included speeding, braking hard, turning aggressively, suddenly accelerating, and other dangerous moves. The studies made sure to note when the car’s phone was in sleep mode or if it was being used in a hands-free mode. That said – hands-free mode may not be as safe as you think it is.

How many people do you think have used a phone while driving?

According to this particular study, more than nine out of ten drivers in the US have used a cell phone while they were driving in the last month. When each state was ranked, Florida was the second most dangerous with info from more than 2.5 million trips and more than 230 million driven miles.

Police are saying this is not surprising and that they see accidents caused by texting all the time. The difficult thing for the police is to do anything about it, thanks to the fact that Florida is just one of five states in the entire country that doesn’t allow police to pull a driver over for texting while driving. They must see the driver committing some other type of offense and can then add on the texting and driving violation.

How serious is it to be distracted?

According to Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, last year there were about 50,0000 car accidents that involved a distracted driver. That comes out to more than five car accidents an hour. The stats also include 233 fatalities and more than 3,500 serious injuries caused by distracted driving.

What qualifies as distracted driving?

According to the report from Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there are three different types of distracted driving: visual (such as taking your eyes off the road), manual (like taking your hands off the wheel while driving), and cognitive (which means not paying attention to what you’re doing).

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident that was caused by distracted driving then you may have a personal injury case. Gilbert & Smallman is here to help – call our offices today for a free case evaluation.