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More Car Accident Deaths Occurring at Night
Car accidents caused by the use of cell phones while driving is starting to show up in statistics. Dave Downey of the Californian has a column this morning about the dangers of driving at night. While the number of people dying in car accidents has been falling over the last decade, the number of deaths occurring at night has actually increased.
According to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute the percentage of auto accident fatalities occurring is on the increase, particularly among teenage drivers.
Back in 1999, the proportion of fatal crashes caused by drivers age 20 and up that occurred at night was 38.6 percent for the nation as a whole and 42.2 percent in California. Nine years later, those percentages had increased to 41.5 percent and 45 percent, respectively. When it came to fatal accidents caused by 16 to 19-year-olds, the proportion occurring at night increased from 45.1 percent nationwide in 1999 to 49.7 percent in 2008.
The question is Why?
According to Downey, who cites researchers, the rise in deadly crashes involving teens driving after dark is the use of the cell phone. More specifically, it’s texting while driving. This is becoming a very serious problem, and justifiably getting the attention of public safety organizations, and even Oprah Winfrey, who has been very active in her “No Texting” campaign.
Source: The Californian
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