Sunday, 02 December 2007 23:47
Distracted Driver Causes Rear End Accident
A
Sutter Creek man adjusting his radio rear-ended another car on New York Ranch Rd
last week. According to
the California Highway Patrol, the 24-year old Sutter Creek driver was
following a 62-year old woman from Citrus Heights
on New York Ranch Rd north
of Coventry Way,
when he took his eyes off the road to adjust his radio. The Citrus
Heights driver braked going down the hill and was rear-ended by
the car behind her, resulting in property damage but, fortunately, no injuries.
Almost 80 percent of crashes
and 65 percent of near-crashes happen within three seconds of some form of
driver distraction, according to a report by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
The study tracked drivers with video cameras and sensors and offered evidence
that inattentive driving causes accidents, and young drivers are much more
likely to have such crashes. The study found that drivers between 18 and 20
were four times as likely to have inattention-related crashes and near-crashes
as drivers over 35.