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.