Distracted driving is one of the greatest dangers on Washington’s roadways. People of all ages use their smartphones while behind the wheel, and this greatly increases their chances of getting in a car accident. Every day in the United States, over 1,000 people suffer from injuries as a result of distracted driving while an average of nine people lose their lives.
Many Washington residents may assume Issaquah is the worst city in Washington for distracted driving. After all, it is the largest city with the biggest population. However, a recent study published in The Issaquah Times revealed that six other cities have worse rates of distracted driving. The study should re-emphasize the need for everyone to be more cautious when on the road. People anywhere could become distracted, and everyone needs to do their part to reduce the rate of distracted driving accidents in Washington.
Edmonds is the worst city
The study revealed that Edmonds has the worst rate of car accidents in the state based on the number of crashes per population. In 2017, a total of 276 accidents occurred in the city, even though Edmonds only has a population of 42,000 people. That means the overall rate of crashes from distracted driving is several times of that of Issaquah.
SeaTac and Tacoma are next on the list
SeaTac has the second highest rate on the list. However, SeaTac is also home to the Issaquah-Tacoma International Airport, so it is possible those numbers are higher than they would be due to out-of-state drivers causing crashes. Other cities that had higher accident rates than Issaquah included Tacoma, Lakewood, Everett, Lynwood, Mountlake, Terrace, Bellevue and Bothell.
Washington has one of the highest distracted driving rates in the country
Washington is a dangerous place to drive. Washington also has some of the strictest penalties when it comes to people driving with their phones. It is everyone’s responsibility to be safer drivers to make roadways more peaceful for everyone.
