How Safe Are Omaha Drivers Compared to the Rest of the Nation?

By Jason Bottlinger on April 12, 2017

Driving is a necessary thing that we do on a daily basis. When you hop in your car to go to work or run an errand, you don’t anticipate a car accident happening or even fear it as you drive. That’s because people generally feel safe while on the road…but are we really?

As of 2016, Omaha is the 40th safest city to drive in out of the 200 cities ranked by Allstate. Although our neighboring city, Lincoln, came in at an impressive number 14, 40th still isn’t a bad spot to be—the top 50! However, in 2015, Omaha was ranked at number 26. What caused the drastic drop?

Dangers of Distracted Driving

One contributor could be the rise in distracted driving. Distractions now join alcohol and speeding as leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes. Many people assume it’s harmless to read or send a text message while driving, but a lot can happen in that few seconds when a driver’s attention is focused on a phone and not the road. The human brain cannot process sudden changes on the road when it’s focused on something else. This causes delayed responses, which could lead to the driver not hitting the breaks in time to prevent an accident.

According to the National Safety Council–Nebraska (NSCN), 26% of accidents are caused by texting or talking on the phone while driving. The National Safety Council has worked tirelessly to educate drivers on the potential dangers of using a phone while driving. They have a three-step approach to rectifying the situation: education, outreach, and advocacy. During these preventive classes, students are given a hands-on simulator to show how dangerous distracted drivers can be.

Overall, Omaha is relatively safe compared to the rest of the nation, but we must work hard to keep it that way and to make it even safer. Always abide by the speed limit and never drink and drive. Avoid using your phone even if it’s on hands-free mode while you drive. Nobody’s perfect; and we are aware that car accidents still happen no matter how careful one may be. If you are involved in a car accident, please do not hesitate to give our office a call at (402) 505-8234. Bottlinger Law L.L.C. will work tirelessly on your case to get the best results possible.