U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said as much this week when he revealed that it took considerable pressure from the government before Toyota would recall millions of cars in order to fix their gas pedals.

Because Toyota dragged its corporate feet, many Americans have died in horrific car crash accidents, when their vehicle suddenly sped up and they couldn’t slow it down. Such victims’ survivors now face a life of anguish, but they’re making their voices heard by launching lawsuits against Toyota for its manufacturing negligence.

Such lawsuits should seek punitive damages as well as compensatory damages, since  Toyota should be punished for its outrageous indifference to public safety. The manufacturer seemed willing to pay victims and survivors settlements as part of the price of doing business. Fortunately, that wasn’t enough for the federal government, whose intervention led to the enormous recall of 2.3 million vehicles in America to fix accelerator pedals which might stick.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective Toyota product, let a defective product lawyer or car accident lawyer with USALegalHelpCenter.com go to work for you. He or she will fight for your rights to fitting and fair financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Toyota sent a message to American consumers with its early disregard of its stuck gas pedal crisis. Now send a message to Toyota that such callous indifference to public safety will not be tolerated in the U.S. legal system.

Indeed, drivers are the most vital variable in car wrecks and other traffic accidents — not weather, defective parts or road conditions. Though such reasons and many others do arise in wrecks, most collisions continue to be due to drivers who — quite simply — make a momentary but lasting mistake.

Which cities and states have the best drivers? According to the 2009 Allstate America’s Best Driving Report, Sioux Falls, SD, is the nation’s safest-driving city, followed by Fort Collins, CO, and Chattanooga, TN.

Cedar Rapids, IA, Knoxville, TN and Fort Wayne, IN also get high marks.

Among cities with a million or more residents, the safest in terms of drivers are Phoenix, AZ, San Diego, CA, New York, NY, Houston, TX and San Antonio, TX. They’re followed by Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA.

The cities with the most improved drivers begin with Alexandria, VA, followed by Lexington-Fayette, KY, Arlington, TX, Hampton, VA, Virginia Beach, VA and Aurora, CO.  Reno, NV and Shreveport, LA also fared well.

Of course, as a man might say about his in-laws, everything is relative. Having more safe drivers doesn’t mean these cities don’t suffer many agonizing traffic mishaps. It just means they have fewer car fatalities and auto accidents than in even worse places.

Yet Americans do have some reason for hope. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 37,261 Americans killed in car accidents and other collisions in 2008 marked the lowest number since 1961, and the first months of 2009 have sustained such improvement.

Still, think about it: 37,261 killed. That sounds like the final tally after a horrendous war — and it’s only one year’s worth of car carnage on America’s roads. It also doesn’t count the millions of people who suffer severe injuries, perhaps involving paralysis or amputation, and the billions of dollars in medical bills, lost productivity and property damages.

Beyond that, some stats are alarmingly rising. America’s motorcycle deaths have increased for 11 straight years. Motorcyclists now represent 14 per cent of America’s traffic fatalities, though they’re just 2 per cent of all drivers.

Also, the recent decline in fatalities is being partly offset by new safety problems. Even though states are increasing their vigilance against drunk driving, even though many cars have more safety features, even though more people than ever wear seat belts, and even though roads are built and designed for greater safety, more than 37,000 Americans still perish in traffic accidents. And why?

Driver error. Drivers ignore road signs, fail to yield and disregard oncoming vehicles. They tailgate, suddenly change lanes and fail to stop for obstructions ahead. And they do such things in large part because drivers, quite simply, are distracted.

Perhaps when they first learned to drive, people were taught to pay rapt attention to the road at all times. They carefully checked their rear-view mirrors, signaled before changing lanes and yielded to other vehicles. And perhaps, for a time, such lessons stayed with them.

But with repeated driving for thousands of miles and a number of years comes an illusory comfort zone. After all, it’s just driving, and it’s done every day. This prompts drivers to believe they’ll be fine on the road, even if they are juggling a fast-foods drink in one hand and a cell phone in the other while they try sending a text message which has no immediate need.

Such multi-tasking is killing many Americans, and preventing the USA’s accident deaths, damages and injuries from dropping even further. Thousands aren’t dying and millions aren’t being maimed due to “accidents,” but rather due to avoidable mistakes. And that’s not to mention those who drive drunk, an avoidable error in itself.

Correcting Americans’ many driving errors can be hard to legislate, though states are trying, taking measures such as passing laws to curtail calling and texting behind the wheel. But beyond laws against such flaws, if knowledge is power, then raising awareness of these mistakes can help, too.

Thus, in the face of those 37,261 deaths last year, all drivers should rededicate themselves to the old adage of “safety first.” They should recognize and obey the rules of the road and realize that impatience, indulgence and selfishness can be the worst excuses for cutting across three lanes of traffic to make a freeway exit that they almost passed because they weren’t paying enough attention. After all, a friend had to hear their “LOL” joke via a text.

Yet not everyone will get this wakeup call, and harmful if not fatal accidents will persist. But when they do, at least there’s help.

If you or a loved one in your state has been harmed in an auto accident or car wreck due to another driver’s mistakes or negligence, you have a legal right to refresh or extend the education of the driver who caused the crash. Contact a qualified car accident lawyer or auto accident personal injury attorney in your state and let him or her press your case for full and fair financial compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

USA-LegalHelpCenter.com offers such support in all 50 states of America. Fill out the free case evaluation form on this web page, and a legal representative will get back to you shortly about your car accident or traffic collision case.

Once a driving error has caused hardship to you or a loved one, don’t make your own error by failing to pursue all legal means for recovering your full and just financial compensation. In time, that, too, may help curb the driver negligence that’s costing so many Americans — too many Americans — their lives.

A recent survey for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. reveals that 19 per cent of motorists admit to texting while driving. The real amount is probably higher, since not everyone will admit doing something so stupid. In fact, another survey in Massachusetts indicates that 28 per cent of people text while driving.

Another survey shows that 26 per cent of mobile phone users tend to text while driving — and that 60 per cent of drivers 16 to 19 years old text while operating the two-ton machine known as a car.

Such behavior, in effect, is unleashing millions more drunk drivers on America’s roads. That’s because text-messaging distractions, as studies show, are the equivalent of being drunk while driving, hampering attention, reaction and overall ability to drive.

Californians had had enough of that, so the state passed a law taking effect Jan. 1, 2009, making it illegal to send, receive or read text messages while driving. California thus joins Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington, Utah, Connecticut and Alaska as states outlawing texting while driving, along with the District of Columbia.   Arkansas, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia will join their ranks later this year when their new laws take effect.

Such laws won’t change the world, but they are a step in the right direction. California also has had laws in effect since last July requiring drivers who use cell phones to have hands-free headsets and prohibiting drivers under 18 from using any type of electronic communication while driving.

Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are suffering injury and death due to distracted drivers who decide that making routine calls or texts while en route are worth the risk of a life-shattering traffic accident.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to such a distracted driver, contact a car accident lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates for help. The long-established Texas personal injury law firm has a history of standing up for individuals who have endured loss due to others’ negligence or recklessness. Via USA-LegalHelpCenter.com, we also can provide you legal assistance in all 50 states.

Fill out the free case review form on this web page and let an experienced cell phone accident lawyer steer you toward a just and fair financial recovery.

Texting while driving may remain legal in Texas and  most other states, but negligent or reckless driving which causes harm to others is still against the law. If such driving has victimized you or a loved one, let a  car accident lawyer for Jim “the Hammer” Adler come to your rescue.