As you may already know, distracted driving is a prevalent problem throughout the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 3,300 people are killed annually in motor vehicle collisions that can be attributed to distracted driving practices—and this does not even account for the 387,000 others who are seriously injured. At this rate, nearly 18% of all accidents in the U.S. that result in injury are caused by distracted driving. Although many people think that the obvious culprits are cell phones, radios and GPS devices, the results of a new study may actually surprise you. According to the findings of the Erie Insurance Group, drivers who daydream while behind the wheel may actually pose a much more serious threat.

In this study, the Erie Insurance Group examined the causes of more than 65,000 fatal car accidents. According to police reports, approximately 10% of these collisions were caused by a distracted driver. What you may find particularly shocking, however, is that 62% of the deaths that were attributed to distracted driving were more specifically caused by daydreaming. According to Doug Smith, the Erie Senior Vice President, "The results were disturbing." The study concurrently found that cell phone use had caused about 12% of the distracted driving accidents, while "rubbernecking" and pets in the vehicle were also contributing factors, but it seems rather obvious that there is an enormous discrepancy between these causes and daydreaming. For this reason, the Bergen County personal injury lawyer at our firm encourages you to keep this in mind.

If you or someone you love has already been involved in a distracted driving accident, however, you should not hesitate to discuss your case with the knowledgeable team at Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law. We understand how traumatic a serious car accident can be—especially when it results in unmanageable medical expenses and time spent away from work—so you can rest assured that we will do everything in our power to recover the level of compensation that you deserve. Our firm is available to represent clients throughout New Jersey, including Bergen County, Hackensack, Bogota and Ridgewood, so we encourage you to give us a call regardless of where you are located. As soon as you contact our office at (201) 870-1909 or submit a free case evaluation form online, we can get started on developing an effective legal strategy on your behalf.