Take Your Eyes Off the Road in Miami, and You Likely to Get Hurt or Hurt Someone!

My son was riding his bike on a well lit day on a wide residential street with absolutely no traffic either way.  He glanced down at his cell phone to find out what time it was, couldn’t see well because of the sun glare, and wham!  He ran into the back of a car, causing a few hundred dollars in damages, got skinned up, and had to check his pride at the door.

His result wasn’t very costly, but it could have been so much worse.  And across the US, hospitals are reporting a huge surge in the number of people being treated for spine, neck, and hip injuries due to distracted EVERYTHING.  

Texting while driving has gotten most of the attention, and it certainly should.  When a driver is distracted, there is a few 1000 pounds of vehicle potentially out of its lane or out of control that can do a huge amount of damage.  And some of that damage is being done to cyclists and pedestrians who are equally distracted.  Drivers who are not paying as much attention as they should are hitting pedestrians in crosswalks who are not paying as much attention as they should.

Various policing agencies throughout the US are contemplating new laws to deal with the carnage.  In some cities you are now more likely to get a jaywalking ticket if you are texting and jaywalking, where you might have gotten just a warning for a pure jaywalking infraction.

Of course, if you are injured in an accident that was caused by someone else’s distracted, and therefore potentially negligent behavior, you may have a case against them to recover any costs you have incurred.  My son had to pay the man for damages to his car, for instance.

If you believe you may have a cause of action against someone, but you need some advice as to how to proceed, call attorney Andrew Smallman 954-661-7371 or Harris Gilbert 786-371-4431 direct on cell phones 24/7 to discuss your case.