Photo: What remains of a vehicle involved in a two-vehicle accident, April 25, on Highway 71 north of Carroll
The number of accidents in the City and County of Carroll that have occurred so far this year are already outpacing the numbers recorded at this same time last year. Carroll Chief of Police, Brad Burke, said the City/County Communications Center has reported 181 accidents between Jan. 1 and April 29 of 2016, compared to 138 total during that timeframe in 2015. Though the number of injuries reported dropped from 19 to 15, the most disturbing statistic is a rise in the number of fatalities from zero to three. Carroll County Sheriff, Ken Pingrey, said many of these accidents, especially those occurring recently, are not caused by adverse road or weather conditions.
Both law enforcement officers said vehicles have more distracting options, such as GPS navigation, better sound systems, Bluetooth capabilities and much more; but they are also seeing people doing things they shouldn’t be doing behind the wheel. It is not unusual at all to witness people eating or drinking, grooming themselves and reading while driving. However, Burke said there is one thing that they are seeing more and more.
Burke added people are also too often in a hurry to get somewhere. Individuals are not stopping at intersections, rather just rolling through, and in doing so, they are not getting a good look at traffic. If people would just slow down, he said, these statistical numbers would decrease. Many of these accidents, Pingrey said, are totally avoidable.
Studies have shown that in just one second, a vehicle going 55 mph will travel half the length of a football field. So, that one second of distraction can be deadly, especially with more farm machinery, motorcycles and bicycles on our roadways. Pingrey and Burke stressed that although the monetary fine for using an electronic communications device while driving is $127.50, the true cost of any type of distracted driving is in ruining somebody else’s life or your own.
