Over 600,000 drivers in America use their devices to text while driving, leading to over 400 car accidents per year. Many studies have shown that texting while driving is dangerous, increasing the risk of accident rates twentyfold.
Why Is Texting So Dangerous?
Texting is dangerous because it takes a driver’s attention from the road and can also require physically removing hands from the wheel. It is a form of distracted driving that can lead to fatal collisions as well as serious injuries, including:
- Head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial injuries and scarring
- Burns
- Internal injuries
- Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
- Amputations
- Crushing injuries
- Fractures
- Sprains and strains
Texting is insidious because many drivers feel they can “multitask” while texting or feel that texting is not dangerous because it only “takes a second.” However, that second can result in a serious pedestrian accident or even head-on crash in Davie or your community.
How to Stop Car Accidents Caused by Texting
We all have a responsibility to stop distracted driving in Davie or in our communities. Here’s how:
- Put your phone out of reach. Put your phone in the trunk of the car or in the glover compartment, so you won’t be tempted to check it while you drive.
- Turn your phone off. Hearing the phone ring can itself be a distraction, especially if you start wondering whether the text or call is important or urgent. It becomes more tempting to pick up when you know someone is calling you, so remove that temptation by putting your phone in airplane mode or shutting it off so it won’t ring.
- Deactivate your hands-free options. A study by Scientific American concluded that for drivers there is no difference between hands-free texting and using a mobile device. In both cases, drivers took twice as long to respond to obstacles and driving situations when compared with undistracted drivers. Even though you may think taking texts or calls hands-free is safer, it’s best to be unavailable while driving so you can focus on road safety.
- Don’t text people when you know they’re driving. If you know someone is in their car or is likely driving, don’t call or text them. Why create a preventable distraction?
What To Do If You’re Injured by a Texting Driver
Even if you’re responsible with your mobile device, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. If you have been hurt by a driver who caused an accident because he or she was texting, it can be difficult to prove negligence and to get the financial recovery you need to pay for your medical bills and other expenses.
Working with an attorney may help. An attorney can seek witnesses or can work with accident reconstruction experts and investigators to find out the causes of the crash. An experienced attorney may even be able to secure cell phone data to prove texting caused your accident.
If you’d like an attorney to represent you in your claim or would like to know whether you have a claim, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation with a car accident attorney.