Highway safety is of great importance in North Carolina. Preventing accidents, injuries, and fatalities starts by educating the public on the importance of safe practices while behind the wheel. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program offers programs that are designed to promote highway safety awareness. Various programs are implemented through the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Booze it & Lose it
Impaired driving, also known as driving under the influence or driving while impaired, causes many accidents each year. The penalties for driving under the influence may include fines, the suspension of driving privileges, jail time, and more. Even with strict consequences, more than 9,000 people have lost their lives due to DUI-related accidents since the Booze it & Lose it program began in 1994.
One Text or Call Could Wreck It All
Texting while driving is a form of distracted driving. Texting takes your hands off the wheel, your focus off driving, and your eyes off the road. In the time it takes to read a text message, a vehicle driving at 55 MPH travels the distance of a football field. During that short length of time, a driver may easily cause an accident. Texting while driving is illegal, and penalties are in place for those who fail to obey the law.
Click It Or Ticket
Wearing your seatbelt while you drive is a safety precaution that saves lives. North Carolina law requires drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts while driving. It is estimated that since 1993, almost 12,000 people died in traffic accidents as a result of failing to wear a seatbelt. The Click It Or Ticket safety program is in place to bring awareness to the use of seatbelts. The failure to wear a seatbelt could result in a ticket with fines of $180. If the unrestrained passenger is under the age of 16, the fine increases to $266.
Speed A Little Lose A Lot
Speeding is one of the most common causes of accidents, injuries, and fatalities on North Carolina roadways. Speeding is a contributing factor in about 25% of all highway fatalities. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to properly control their vehicle and makes it more difficult to stop quickly when there is a problem. Speed increases the risk to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Speeding can be considered negligence since a driver is aware that going over the speed limit is dangerous and can lead to accidents and injuries.
Even with the safety programs in place, there are still many accidents on our roads. A negligent driver is responsible for the damages they cause as a result of their actions. If you or a loved one was hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be owed compensation. We are available to talk to you about the accident and help you seek justice and get the money you deserve for your injuries. Call us today at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 for a free initial consultation.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://www.ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/safety/click-ticket/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/safety/booze-it-lose-it/Pages/default.aspx
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https://www.freeimages.com/photo/crash-car-1-1180905
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