Road crashes are going to increase in years ahead because of driver inattention involving phones.

"Prior to this it would have been listed as 'driver inattention' or noted in the narrative section of the report."

A coroner's inquest into the deaths determined that the accident was most likely caused by driver inattention.

A 2003 study of U.S. crash data states that driver inattention is estimated to be a factor in between 20 to 50 percent of all police-reported crashes.

Talking or texting Nearly 80 percent of crashes involve driver inattention, and one of the primary causes is you guessed it using a cell phone.

The accidents, on Nov. 21, were notable in part because they involved trucks, but state officials insisted that driver inattention was the main cause of all three accidents.

Such integrated systems could help cars compensate for driver inattention, but still leave the driver in ultimate control of the vehicle, Mr. Cook said.

It found that driver inattention was the overwhelming cause of the crashes in the study.

In 2007, 17.2 percent of all PWC-related accidents were caused by driver inattention.

Often the problem is driver inattention, but sometimes there is nothing a driver can do.