A sideswipe crash that could have had drastic consequences was all caught on camera.
The crash happened Monday morning on Highway 13 in Polk County. Luckily, no injuries were reported.
The Polk County accident is one of at least three sideswipe crashes that have happened across the state in 24 hours.
Distracted driving is being blamed in a pair of sideswipe crashes reported in the Kansas City area this week.
On Monday, a charter bus was sideswiped by a tractor-trailer while pulled over on the side of the road on I-70 in Blue Springs. The driver of the charter bus and nine passengers were taken to the hospital. Two people still remained there on Tuesday evening.
Missouri Highway Patrol said the tractor-trailer driver told them he had put a piece of gum in his mouth when he started to choke on the gum and reached for some water before the crash. The driver was issued a ticket for careless and imprudent driving.
On Tuesday morning, a Missouri Department of Transportation truck was hit while on the side of the road working a separate crash on I-70 near Paseo Boulevard. No injuries were reported, but investigators said the driver who hit the MoDOT truck was distracted at the time of the crash.
The recent crashes are once again putting distracted driving in the spotlight.
“Just a momentary distraction, especially when you're going highway speeds like what we saw with the tour bus, can create a lot of problems as people go off the road," explained Personal Injury Attorney Doug Horn.
Horn has worked in the personal injury field for around two decades. He said the driving culture nowadays is leading to more danger on the road.
“People are driving faster,” he said. “They're driving more confidently and we're more hurried in society."
Horn explained that with spring right around the corner, distracted driving crashes could increase.
“In good road conditions, people are more apt to drive faster,” explained Horn. “There's more volume of traffic and more distractions."
The Missouri General Assembly continues to work on a bill targeting distracted driving. Currently under state law, it is illegal only for drivers 21 and under to text and drive. Under new legislation being worked on this year, a full ban on texting while driving could be put in place by August.
However, Horn says the solution to distracted driving ultimately rests with drivers.
“People must drive defensively,” he said. “That's where the key is. It’s not in the laws.”
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Tom Dempsey can be reached at tom.dempsey@kshb.com.
