If you are traveling anywhere this holiday season, expect to have some company on the road — about 107 million fellow travelers according to AAA. Just over 97 million are expected to drive and another 6.4 million will be flying.
The holidays are a busy time and drivers are already distracted by their phones, auto technology and passengers. Throw in thousands of shoppers or pedestrians who are texting or talking and you can see the dangers rise exponentially.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 3,477 people were killed and another 391,000 injured by distracted drivers in 2015. According to the Property Casualty Insurers of America (PCI), distracted driving, particularly the pervasive use of mobile phones behind the wheel, is one of the primary reasons for the increase in vehicle crashes across the country. An online Harris Poll conducted for PCI found that distracted driving was the leading cause of the increase in auto accidents even though most adults know not to text or talk while driving.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Patricia L. Harman
Patricia L. Harman is the editor-in-chief of Claims magazine, a contributing editor to PropertyCasualty360.com, and chairs the annual America's Claims Event (ACE), which focuses on providing claims professionals with cutting-edge education and networking opportunities. She covers auto, property & casualty, workers' compensation, fraud, risk and cybersecurity, and is a frequent speaker at insurance industry events. Contact her at [email protected]
