The Alabama Association for Justice along side the American Association for Justice recently announced a partnership with End Distracted Driving. The organizations hope the partnership will inspire lawyers and driver safety advocates to provide free presentations in schools and communities to show the dangers of distracted driving.
“Working together on this service project, trial lawyers have a chance to save young lives,” said Ken Riley, ALAJ President. “Our organization is committed to increasing safety awareness, which will help prevent injuries and fatalities.”
In 2014, distracted driving accounted for 10% of all car-related deaths, 21% behind alcohol-related accidents. Seemingly every year, more and more people are using their mobile devices more than ever. Young people, especially, use their cell phones more than anyone. Organizations across Alabama and the U.S. are trying to teach the importance of never using these devices while operating a mobile vehicle.
According to the 280 Reporter, 388 Alabama high school students attended Ken Riley’s first anti-distracted driving presentation.
Although state and federal governments are implementing new laws and safety precautions to decrease the number of traffic-related fatalities, more people are dying on the roads than ever before. Mobile devices and other distractions are playing a large part in those deaths.
“Despite decades of safety improvements, far too many people are killed on our nation’s roads every year,” said Anthony Foxx, secretary for the Transportation department. “Solving this problem with take teamwork, so we’re issuing a call to action and asking researchers, safety experts, data scientists, and the public to analyze the fatality date and help find ways to prevent these tragedies.”
NPR reports that the number of people who died in auto accidents reached 35,092 last year, which is a 7.2% increase from the year before.
The ALAJ is attempting to reach more than 100,000 U.S. drivers and reiterate the message: “End Distracted Driving.”
