Brooklyn Auto Accident Lawyers Discuss Distracted Driving And Cell Phone Use: Texting Causes Accidents

You hear about it all the time. Someone was on their cell phone. They were distracted. Then, they hit another car, a pedestrian, or someone else explains one of the Brooklyn auto accident lawyers at the F&A injury law firm. Many states are working to ban cell phone usage behind the wheel because of the accidents it causes. Even when it’s banned, accidents happen because of it.

Learn what can be done if someone has hit you while driving because of being distracted on their cell phone or another device.

Texting Laws

There are texting laws in place that vary by state. Some states require that you are completely hands-free, which means you cannot even pick up the phone to take a phone call unless it is through Bluetooth. This means that all drivers need to be aware of the laws within their state. If everyone would stay off their phones, the roads would be a much safer place.

Even when states don’t have specific laws about texting, it is often about exercising common sense. It’s hard to pay attention to what’s going on on the road when you’re staring down at the screen of your phone. Things on the road can happen in a split second and you need all of the reaction time that you can get. Otherwise, accidents happen.

Statistics

Startling statistics exist as a result of texting while driving. In 2011, it is estimated that at least 23 percent of auto crashes involved cell phones. You could lose at least five seconds when you’re texting on your phone, which means that is five seconds your attention is not on the road.

Additionally, the NHTSA estimates that distracted driving was responsible for claiming 3477 lives in 2015. As such, the NHTSA is working on an effort to prevent the dangerous behavior and save lives in the process.

What Can Happen

A lot can happen when you are looking down at your cell phone screen. Whether you are reading a text, responding to an email, or doing something else, you aren’t fully focused on the road. If the person in front of you slams on their brakes, you could easily end up in a rear end collision.

There are countless other scenarios that could happen on the road as well. If you get into an accident because someone else is on their cell phone and driving distractedly, they are the ones at fault. It happens all the time and the scenarios are often catastrophic.

If you are in a no-fault state, it’s your insurance that pays for your property damage. It’s also your health insurance that takes care of any injuries. This hardly seems fair – and that’s why you have the option to sue. As such, you want to work with personal injury lawyers that specialize in car accidents so that you can work on obtaining a financial settlement that takes care of the various damages and injuries.

Your Rights

You have rights when you have been in a car accident. If someone else wasn’t watching the road, then that’s on them. You shouldn’t have to pay out-of-pocket because they were distracted. If you have a loved one who lost their life, it’s also up to you to fight and hold the other party responsible for what they have done.

As opposed to working with the insurance company alone, choose to work with a personal injury lawyer. It will allow you to learn about the process of setting up a lawsuit. The two of you can work to determine a good financial settlement amount and fight for what you are owed.

Learn more about how we can help by contacting our office today to schedule a consultation.