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Do Distracted Police Officers Cause St. Joseph Auto Accidents?

Last week, I was stopped at a red light when I noticed that the police officer in the lane next to mine was busy typing on his squad car computer. I never really thought about squad car equipment being a distraction, but when I saw how intent the officer was on his work, I began to wonder if officer distraction ever causes St. Joseph car accidents.

An internet search turned up no police distracted driving cases in Missouri, but in 2010, a police officer in Austin, Texas was entering information into a squad car computer when he ran a stop sign and crashed into a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist sustained serious injuries to his left leg.

Distracted police officers are not just a problem in Texas. Public safety researchers at St. Mary's University of Minnesota investigated the causes of police car accidents. The students doing the research analyzed 378 police-involved traffic accidents in Minnesota from 2006 through 2010. The students looked at the causes of the accidents, looking for common factors such as time of day that the crash occurred, driving conduct, whether the vehicle was in motion, speed, distracted driving and technology.

They found that distracted driving by police officers accounted for 14 percent of crashes and 17 percent of crash costs. Squad car crashes involving technology accounted for 12 percent of crashes and accounted for 24 percent of costs. Distracting technology included laptop computers, police radios, cell phones, and police cameras. In fact, the most expensive crashes involved police officers who were distracted by computers in their squad cars.

Some more findings:

• While the overall average cost per accident claim was about $3,000, the cost of a distracted-driving claim averaged $6,000.
• More than half of distracted driving crashes involved the use of squad car computers. The average cost for these claims was $10,000.
• Most crashes occurred during routine work, not during emergency responses. However, the most expenses claims resulted from crashes that occurred while an officer was responding to an emergency.

The students conducting the study believe that distracted driving is a growing problem, but more work is needed to determine how police officers can best address the use of technology is squad cars.

Is distracted driving by police officers an issue in Missouri? It is very likely that distraction by technology does cause Missouri car crashes. However, the data has not been compiled or analyzed.

If you are a victim of a distracted driver in Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation even if the driver was a police officer responding to an emergency. A St. Joseph, MO auto accident lawyer can advise you of your rights.
To learn more, request a free copy of our book, 10 Essential Steps You Must Take To Protect Your Injury Claim.

If you have questions or would like to discuss your injury, contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys at 888-348-2616.

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