Cell Phone Texting Accidents

Indiana and Maine are the latest states to join 33 that now have some form of a ban on drivers texting while behind the wheel. Florida remains one of the last holdouts in a diminishing pool of states that refuse to enact laws that cut down on the major cause of distracted driving. Even the District of Columbia and Guam have some sort of texting ban, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, and eight states ban handheld cell phones while driving.

Every year Florida lawmakers introduce bills into the legislature to address the problem and every year they die a slow death buried in a committee. According to Ocala.com this year was no different. One bill would have required the DMV to include information about the dangers of handheld devices in driver education. The other would have banned the use of cell phones by driver under the age of 18. Gov. Rick Scott failed to sign the former into law and the latter died in a committee. Another bill died in committee that would have made texting while driving a secondary offense. In 2010, 11 bills to address the problem were considered and none passed.

The evidence is in. When Virginia Tech Transportation Institute studied texting while driving, it found the practice increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 23 times when compared to nondistracted driving. “There’s no question that texting and driving is a serious distraction,” said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. According to a Consumer Reports survey in March 2011, one-third of young drivers admit to texting behind the wheel.

Finding the records or evidence of texting is not a problem, finding the will to create a law has historically been a problem. If Florida lawmakers ever stop bending to the will of the communications industry and pass some form of legislation it will make it much easier to establish a defendant’s liability in a case where there are injuries and/or death that resulted from distracted driving.

Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20110619/ARTICLES/110619682/1402/NEWS?Title=Texting-while-driving-still-allowed-in-Florida

A 21-year-old Ponte Vedra man faces a civil charge in connection with an accident on A-1-A in South Ponte Vedra Beach. The Florida Highway Patrol suspects that the male driver was texting when he slammed into the back of a car driven by a woman from Jacksonville. The St. Augustine Record reports that the male driver has been charged with failure to use due care. The woman’s car was stopped in a construction zone where flaggers were directing two-way traffic to a one-lane road. The female motorist suffered a broken collarbone in the crash. According to News4Jax.com, a FHP Lt. said that the man was looking down at the time of the collision and investigators are looking into the possibility he was texting on his cell phone.

We hold the injured woman in our thoughts as we pray for a quick and complete recovery from her injuries.

Texting and Driving Statistics
Driving while texting (DWT) has received a great deal of attention lately. “Car and Driver Magazine” recently conducted an experiment that found it takes four times longer to hit the brakes when you are texting than when you are legally drunk. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found texting truck drivers 23 times more at risk of a crash or near crash than those driving without distraction. And a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration study shows nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.

DWT Laws
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have laws specifically aimed at making texting and driving illegal. This does not include states that have, or are considering, laws regulating the use of any communications device (hands free or otherwise) while driving. Florida has no laws regarding DWT and does not allow counties or municipalities to enact such bans. This is surprising considering what seems like overwhelming evidence that distracted drivers—especially those who use cell phones—are a major hazard on our highways

Personal Injury Car Accident Attorney
If you or someone you love is rear-ended by a vehicle driven by a careless or distracted driver you should contact a Florida car accident injury attorney immediately. An professional in this area of the law has the experience and resources necessary to help you make sure justice is carried out and the at-fault driver is held responsible for causing your accident.

Source:http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2010-02-27/five-car-crash-prompts-fhp-civil-charge

This is a campaign that may have support across the states, according to news reports. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is releasing sample legislation that states are to use to craft their own laws prohibiting texting behind the wheel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conferred with a cross-section of safety and industry organizations to prepare the sample state law. One of the elements is to authorize law enforcement to stop and ticket anyone who is texting while driving. There is emerging science that shows texting while driving (TWD) is a serious threat to safety and as distracting and disruptive and driving under the influence.

Just the act of texting combines three types of distraction that may lead to a serious car collision in Florida. Visually you cannot take your eyes off the screen when you text, and you cannot take your hands off the wheel when you are texting. Let’s not forget about the cognitive awareness one needs to drive that is not there when you are texting.

NHTSA is pushing state laws because of the numbers. Approximately 6,000 people died in 2008 when they were texting while driving or there was some distraction while driving. More than half a million people were injured by distracted driving. Those who have the least experience behind the wheel, men and women under the age of 20, are most likely to experience the most distraction. The state proposal is based on one ordered by President Obama last October that banned federal employees from texting while driving government-owned vehicles. Large trucks and bus drivers are also supposed to follow federal guidelines that prohibit TWD commercial vehicles. They are subject to civil or criminal penalties.

As it now stands, 19 states and the District of Columbia have texting laws and more than 200 bills were considered by state legislatures in 2009. The interest and activity is expected to continue at the state level in 2010.

When Jennifer Smith’s mother died in a wreck September 3, 2008, the Grapevine, Texas woman had to know why. It turns out that the person who caused the crash was exhibiting distracted driving practices. That is when FocusDriven was formed.

FocusDriven is a new nonprofit group created by the National Safety Council and supported by federal government and the Governors Highway Safety Association. It today has become the first nonprofit that is strictly dedicated to raising public awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. Smith is now the president. She has laid out the mission of the group in this statement:

“Losing someone and then finding out it was preventable, makes losing them even harder. I would like my mother’s legacy to be that people hear her story and decide their call, email or text message is never as important as someone’s life. If we do nothing, then it is no longer a matter of if this will happen to someone you love, it is a matter of when it happens to someone you love. I have two beautiful daughters to protect; I can’t lose anyone else I love.”

We are very sorry for her loss and commend her bravery and courage to take grief and turn it into action that could save many other lives.

Discourage Drivers From Using Cellphones
The goal of FocusDriven is to educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving and raise the issues, much the way that Mothers Against Drunk Driving has done with drinking and driving.

The stories that are part of FocusDriven are a clear and compelling call to action, said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in introducing the group. FocusDriven’s next step will be to set up chapters where its founding members live – Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas. 19 states including, California and Washington D.C., have laws that ban text messaging while driving.

In 2008, distracted driving contributed to 5,870 deaths in the U.S. according to the Transportation Department.

Source:http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/01/14/new-group-raising-awareness-of-distracted-driving.aspx?admgarea=news