Connecticut Auto Accident Risk Increases With Cell Phone Use 2-8x

Whether you are on I-95, Silas Deane Highway, or the Merritt Parkway, using your smartphone while you drive is not the smartest thing to do. Not only is it against Connecticut law to operate a mobile device while operating your vehicle, drivers who text or surf the Internet on their phones while driving are 2-8 times more likely to be involved in a Connecticut auto accident.  People who talk and drive increase their risk up to four times, according to a report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

This latest report updates previous research, some of which is now over a decade old and dates back to the days when drivers used flip phones to only make calls. Today, modern technology and smartphones are changing the way drivers interact with devices and ultimately affects Connecticut roadway safety.

The NHTSA reported 3,450 distraction-related deaths occurred in 2016. In Connecticut during that same year, there were 12 fatalities and more than 3,200 injuries, according to the UCONN Crash Data Repository, a database that provides crash information collected by state and local police.

While more than two in three drivers personally consider it’s unacceptable to talk on cellphones while driving, they do so anyway, reports the Foundation’s Traffic Safety Culture Index. Yet, one in three drivers says they talk on their phones while driving regularly.

This newest study investigated the relationship between smartphone use and crash risk, using data from a sample of more than 3,500 drivers, whose driving was monitored for several months as they drove in their own vehicles.

If you or a loved one was injured in a Connecticut auto accident, contact our firm immediately and our experienced legal team will begin an investigation.