Risk & Business Magazine Nesbit Agencies Magazine Summer 2019 | Page 14

DISTRACTED DRIVING
THE TRUE COST OF
DISTRACTED DRIVING
W
hen people think of
distracted driving, a few
comical images might
pop into their heads
(often from the movies).
You may think of a young man peering out
the car window to see a beautiful woman
walking on the sidewalk when he should be
paying attention to the road. You may think
of someone applying make-up in their
mirror while using their knees to steer. You
may think of a guy shaving during a long
commute. The truth is, the vast majority
of distracted driving occurs due to texting
or using phones while driving, which
has resulted in increasingly dangerous
consequences over the past several years.
Not only that, but it is costing everyone a
whole lot of money, directly or indirectly.
According to a federal study, distracted-
driving-related crashes cost around $175
billion a year. The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration estimates $46 billion
in total economic losses due to distracted
driving and $129 billion in societal harm
costs. The largest cost, of course, is not in
terms of economic losses but in terms of
health and human life. Distracted driving
incidents result in an astronomical number
of hospital visits and deaths each year, and
BY: ALISHA PARADISE
NESBIT AGENCIES
14
that number is only getting higher.
On the commercial side, distracted driving
can come from smart devices, eating or
drinking on the road, smoking or drug
use, or it can be alcohol related (much the
same issues facing normal drivers). The key
difference is that the costs and dangers are
much higher. Truckers carrying a load are
not only putting themselves, their vehicles,
and others at risk, but they are also placing
a risk on the goods that they are carrying
which could have far reaching impacts.
When people text and drive, everyone ends
up paying. That’s the bottom line. It doesn’t
matter if it’s one driver in a fleet of trucks
driving for a company or a teenager who
just got his license—
the danger and the
cost are going to
be the same. Not
only for them but
for everyone else
too. With more and
more smart devices
hitting the market,
the problem is likely
to become worse,
not better. That
is, in terms of the
direct economic
Alisha Paradise has a little over
five years of experience in the
insurance business and prior to
that spent over 10 in the food
industry as a Manager. Alisha
is currently helping the Nesbit
team by handling a variety of
servicing needs for current clients
as well as selling every chance she
can. Alisha enjoys helping people
understand the need for insurance
and what can happen without it.
She can be reached at aparadise@
nesbitagencies.com or 952-746-
4366.
impact in addition to rising insurance
costs for everyone else resulting from those
incidents.
Safety is a top priority for everyone, not just
companies relying on drivers for deliveries
but also for every driver that uses the roads.
A split-second lapse of attention could not
only cost thousands of dollars in repair
costs, but it could also be a matter of life
or death. The fact that the costs associated
with these accidents are so high is only a
secondary concern, albeit a big one. And
when considering both factors, it should
be clear that distracted driving is an issue
which we all need to be concerned about. +
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