Distracted driving accidents are a dangerous, common occurrence.
Drivers distracted by their cell phone are involved in 1.6 million accidents per year, which is about 20% of all car crashes.
These distracted driving accidents cause over 1000 deaths and over 100,000 injuries every year. Today, distracted driving has become the number one cause of auto-related fatalities for teenagers, claiming 8 lives daily.
Even hands-free devices lead to distracted driving because they too distract drivers' attention away from what's on the road.
Not only can distracted driving be deadly, but it is also extremely costly. According to the National Safety Council, distracted driving costs Americans $164 billion annually in related medical bills, wages lost due to injury or death, and property damage.
Cell Phone Distractions
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention away from driving. These activities may be performed inside or outside the vehicle, but they all take a driver's eyes off the road for more than two seconds. Texting while driving, phone calls, surfing the internet, checking your GPS, or programming your navigation system are not safe distractions because performing these tasks take hands off the wheel and eyes off the road for too long.
Other common distracted behaviors include reading maps or directions, grooming , using in-car entertainment systems, watching videos, having loud conversations with other passengers in your car, arguing with your kids, or eating while driving. Conducting any of these distracted behaviors while operating a motor vehicle puts you and everyone else on the road at risk of being injured in a distracted driving accident.
Why Distractions Cause Accidents?
Distracted drivers fail to notice traffic signs, pedestrians, bicyclists, other cars on the road, or changing weather conditions that require them to reduce their speed or take some other action. The NHTSA reports that distracted drivers are more than three times as likely to get into an accident they otherwise wouldn't have gotten into if they were focused on what's ahead.
Not only does distracted driving put your life at risk but so do the lives of all others using the roads with you. Drivers distracted by cell phones are responsible for one out of five car accident fatalities. They are distracted by their phone conversations or texting rather than the other cars on the road, making it impossible for them to take evasive action if necessary.
The widespread dangers posed by distracted driving have caught the attention of lawmakers across all 50 states who have taken steps to ban distracted driving or distracted driving accidents.
Proving A Driver Was Distracted
While distracted driving is easy to identify, defending distracted driving claims is not. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to prove that a distracted driver was responsible for leading to the accident. To make this case you must be able to show:
- The distracted driver took their eyes off of the road
- The distracted person's hands were taken off the wheel
- They lost control of their vehicle as a result
If any one of those three factors occurred, you may have a claim.
When To Call A Lawyer?
If you were involved in a distracted driving accident, call a car accident attorney immediately. Because distracted driving is such a broad term, there are many different scenarios that can lead to an accident. The distracted driver may have been using a cell phone, eating a sandwich while driving, checking the odometer for how many miles they've driven since their last gas fill-up, or scrolling through their GPS for directions to another destination.
A car accident attorney will listen to your story and determine what steps need to be taken in order to build your case so you can get compensated for your injuries and other damages caused by the distracted driver's negligence.
Accidents Attorneys Boca Raton have personal injury lawyers with years of experience defending victims of distracted driving accidents. Contact us today to get a free consultation and see if you have a case.