Four middle school students are hospitalized after the bus they were riding on crashed in Santa Clara, Utah near the intersection of Santa Clara Drive and Lava Flow Drive. The accident happened on Friday, November 13, 2009 at around 7:20 in the morning. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, a pickup truck ran a red light and slammed into the bus that was carrying 50 students. Four students suffered minor cuts and bruises and were transported to Dixie Regional Medical center as a precautionary measure. The students are expected to be released by Friday afternoon.
The driver of the pickup, a 21-year-old man from St. George told investigators he was distracted by his cell phone when he ran the red light. He was cited for careless driving and equipment violations.
Cell Phone and Texting Accident Statistics
According to National Highway and Traffic Administration, at any given time, 6 percent of drivers are using a hand-held cell phone. That translates to 812,000 vehicle drivers are using a cell phone at any given daylight moment. Talking on a cell phone is attributed to 25% of car accidents and a driver is 1.3 times more likely to get in a car accident while talking on the phone. Additionally, in a 2007 study performed by Nationwide Insurance Company, 73 percent of adult drivers admit to talking on cell phones while driving.
The numbers are even more alarming for drivers you text message. Text messaging causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes of the road. For every 6 seconds of driving time, a driver spends 4.6 of those 6 seconds with his or her eyes off the road making texting and driving the most distracting cell phone activity. Texting and driving is a huge problem among teens who are four times more likely than adults to get in a texting related traffic accident.
If you have been in a Utah auto accident, you need a copy of my free, Utah Accident Book. Contact my office today to request your free copy.
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