Michigan residents have likely read many news stories either lauding or criticizing the millennial generation, and a study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety on Feb. 15 has added to this discussion by highlighting how frequently today’s younger drivers violate motor vehicle laws and place other road users in danger. The organization asked 2,511 drivers about their driving habits, and a worrying 88 percent of those between the ages of 19 and 24 admitted to reckless behavior like speeding, texting while behind the wheel and running red lights.
While more than 78 percent of the drivers polled said that texting while driving was completely unacceptable, nearly 40 percent of them admitted that they had engaged in this type of behavior within the last 30 days. Drivers also seemed to contradict themselves when questions were asked about running red lights. More than a third of the respondents admitted that they had ignored a red light in recent weeks, but almost all of them considered this type of behavior to be unacceptable.
The National Safety Council provided a somber reminder of the consequences of motoring recklessness on Feb. 16 when it reported that car accident fatalities had climbed to more than 40,000 for the first time in a decade. The ride in road deaths has been blamed on cheaper gas and an increase in road traffic levels, but experts say that the epidemic use of cellphones by drivers is also a major problem.
Car accidents are also one of the leading causes of death among millennials, and many of these fatal crashes leave occupants of other vehicles badly injured. When representing an accident victim in a case where the negligent party responsible has died, experienced personal injury attorneys may file a lawsuit against the estate of the at-fault motorist.
Source: Fox News, “2016 traffic deaths jump to highest level in nearly a decade”, Associated Press, Feb. 16, 2017