As a personal injury attorney who deals with car accident victims on a daily basis (and drives much more carefully because of that fact!) it was shocking to me to find out that lawyers and doctors have the highest rates of car crashes of any occupation.The article points to fatigue; however, I think that multi-tasking by talking on cell phones, using blackberries, or just the sheer the number of hours on the road traveling to meet clients or be in court contribute as well!

For doctors, the accident rate is 109 accidents per 1,000 drivers; and, for lawyers it is 106 accidents per 1,000 drivers, the Journal News reports. The rate of speeding tickets for doctors is 44 tickets per 1,000 drivers, and for lawyers it is 37 speeding tickets per 1,000 drivers.  Their accident rate is lower than that of students, however, according to the Quality Planning Corp., which compiled the figures. Students have 152 accidents and 87 speeding tickets per 1,000 drivers.

Robert Sinclair, spokesman for AAA New York, told the Journal News that the reason for the high rate of accidents may be fatigue. “These are professions that put in lots and lots of hours,” he said. “Often fatigued driving can be a greater impingement on skills and abilities than alcohol.”

After doctors and lawyers, architects were the next most likely to have an accident. Also in the top 10 were real estate agents, enlisted military personnel, social workers, manual laborers, analysts, engineers and consultants, the story says.  Farmers had the lowest rate of accidents, followed by firefighters and pilots.

Regardless of your profession:  Please Drive Safely!