Texting and driving is more lethal than drinking and driving
You congratulate yourself on being able to drive safely while digging around for your phone. Since you’re such a safe and cautious driver, you agree to go against all reasoning and pull out your phone to read the text. But first you have to slide that button to unlock the screen. Then you have to type in your password. Then you have to look for the text application on your phone. Oh yes, and then you must touch it with your finger to get it to open so you can finally read the text that you keep telling yourself may be an important message that you absolutely cannot miss. A smiley face from your girlfriend – how sweet, you think to yourself. and smile. And then you look up to see that you-are-about-to-crash-into-the-car-in-front-of-with-only-a-few-seconds-to-think: not possibly long enough to avoid such a collision.
In late 2012, Forbes posted an online article about the mind blowing statistics related to texting and car accidents. Texting while driving…
- Causes 11 teen deaths EVERY DAY
- Causes 25% of all accidents, totally 1.6M per year (Nat’l Safety Council)
- Causes 330,000 injuries per year (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study)
- Is 6x more dangerous than driving while intoxicated (NHTSB)
- Is still legal in 11 states to text while driving; only 10 fully prohibit cell phones while driving
- Is not a teen-only problem with 47% of adults admitting to texting while driving (Washington Post, May 2012)
Depending upon the specific incident that resulted from texting and driving at the same time, you will need to hire an attorney who can represent you. The laws vary from state to state, but the bottom line is that you will have specific issues related to your case that will require the expertise of an attorney. Many questions will need to be answered.
- Did the accident involve a death or injury?
- Is this your first incident of texting and driving?
- Are you under the age of 18?
- Was there a minor in the vehicle at the time of the accident?