Drivers Asked to Correct Their Own Bad Driving Habits to Reduce Risks of Car Accidents in Columbia Missouri

We recently reported on our Car Accident Lawyer Blog that safety advocates worldwide launched a Decade of Action this month, the first-ever coordinated international effort aimed at improving traffic safety.

Looking at our attitudes about auto safety and the leading causes of car crashes in Columbia and elsewhere in Missouri is critical to understanding what we each need to do to make our roads safer. Not surprisingly, the AAA Foundation for Highway Safety reports that too many of us take a "do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do" approach to traffic safety. In other words, it's the other guy's fault.

Our Columbia car accident lawyers urge motorists to practice safe driving habits as car accidents are the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Every driver needs to do their part to help make our roadways safer.

From 1895 to 2009, the United States lost the lives of 1,055,881 people in car accidents. Nearly 40,000 people lost their lives in 2009 alone. While this number represents the lowest number of fatalities since 1950, it still represents an average of 93 lives lost a day on average, according to AAA.

Poor driving habits are responsible for large numbers of accidents

• Cell phone use. Every 2 out of 3 drivers surveyed report having talked on their cell phones while driving in the past month.
• Speeding. Nearly half of all drivers surveyed admit to traveling at least 15 mph over the speed limit on freeways in the past month.
• Running red lights. More than 30 percent of drivers confess to running a red light in the last 30 days.
• Driving while drowsy. One-fourth of those surveyed admitted having had trouble keeping their eyes open at some point while driving a motor vehicle in the last 30 days.
• Not wearing a seat belt. Roughly 1 in 10 drivers admit to regularly traveling without wearing their seat belts.
• Driving while drunk. 1 in 10 drivers report that they operated a motor vehicle while their blood alcohol concentration may have been over the legal limit.

Missouri experienced nearly 800 deaths as a result of traffic accidents in 2009, according to the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The risks of being involved in a traffic accident can decrease with the cooperation of drivers nationwide. It is important for drivers to stop criticizing the acts of other drivers and do their best to correct their bad habits, as many surveyed admit to participating in dangerous driving habits that they frown upon.