For most people in the United States, personal vehicles are the main form of transportation to and from work, home, and other activities. As convenient as this can be, this also puts drivers at risk of getting in an accident every day — accidents that can be easily prevented. In 2013, there were 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants who lost their lives in traffic accidents and about 2.05 million passenger vehicle occupants who sustained injuries. Those numbers are far too high. Here is some valuable car and truck accident information about two of the main causes of accidents that may help you to be more informed about the dangers on the roads today.

First, using cell phone while driving. For all of the ways personal cell phones have made our day to day lives easier, cell phones and driving do not mix well. At any given moment in the day across the United States, approximately 660,000 drivers are likely to be using their cell phones or manipulating other electronic devices while driving. This makes them distracted drivers and more likely to cause car, truck, or motorcycle accidents. If a driver engages in visual-manual subtasks (examples are reaching for their phone, dialing, and texting) that are associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices, this increased the risk of getting in an accident by three times. It was found in 2013 that 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes caused by distracted drivers. About 424,000 people were injured from these crashes in the same year. It’s clear that using cell phones or other electronic devices is simply not worth the risk when you consider the potential consequence of injury or even death for other drivers on the road.

Secondly, drunk driving. Given all of the emphasis on drunk driving prevention in the past several years, it’s disappointing that this is still the cause of many crashes today. A person is injured in a drunk driving crash in the United States every two minutes. That is far too frequent. It has been found that there are 300,000 drunk drivers on the road every day. However, less than 4,000 are arrested. Additionally, the average drunk driver has usually driven drunk about 80 times before they are arrested for the first time. Every time a person who is drunk gets behind the wheel of a car, they are risking the lives of themselves, any passengers in their car, pedestrians, and every other driver on the road. Using a friend or family member as the “designated driver,” or calling a taxi or similar driving service, is a far better alternative to taking the risk of driving drunk and causing car or truck accidents.

If you do find yourself injured after being involved in a car crash caused by a distracted or drunk driver, you may need to seek personal injury lawyer. A professional law firm will have the credentials and experience to manage your case and answer any questions you may have, including more car and truck accident information to support your case. Only about four to five percent of personal injury cases end up going to trial in the United States, so it’s more likely that your case will be able to settled out of court.

Now that you are equipped with this motorcycle, car, and truck accident information, please stay safe by not using your cell phone while driving and not driving drunk. These are both highly preventable causes of accidents, and you can do your part to drive safe every day.