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Distracted driving a serious concern to Virginians

On Behalf of | May 24, 2019 | Car Accidents |

The Governor of this state recently announced that, according to an online town hall meeting about traffic safety, Virginians are very concerned about distracted driving on Virginia’s roads.

According to the results of the online forum, almost half of those asked, over 49%, said that distracted driving was the most serious safety issue on the roads of this state. Additionally, slightly over 17% of respondents described the issue as the second most serious safety issue.

The results put distracted driving ahead of both drunk driving and aggressive driving, two other major traffic safety issues that also plague Virginia’s roads. To put the overall results in context, over 24% of respondents classified drunk driving as the most serious safety risk on the roads, with 24.5% calling it the second most serious safety issue.

With respect to aggressive driving, almost 11% of those responding described it as the most pressing issue, with about 19% saying it was the second most pressing risk. Comparatively, habits like speeding, fatigued driving and drugged driving were of less concern to the citizens of this state.

In response to the results, the Governor indicated that more needs to be done to create a culture in which distracted driving is unacceptable.

For instance, while distracted driving is a serious concern for residents, only 21.7% said that they never use their phones while driving. Most people, around 65%, admitted to picking up their devices from time to time even though they were driving.

The Governor’s remarks come in the wake of this state’s lawmakers recently tightening Virginia’s distracted driving laws.

Hopefully, a change in attitude will lead to better driving habits and, as a result, fewer car accidents in this state. Until that time, those in the Blacksburg area who get hurt because of a distracted driver should remember that legal options are available to them.

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