Cell Phone and Auto Accidents
Under the new Washington State laws, drivers who read and compose text messages or talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device could face a $101 ticket. The text-messaging ban takes effect Jan. 1; the cell-phone law will be enforced starting in July 2008.
In this article Nick Johnson, lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group shares many factors of the dangers of Cell Phone and Auto Accidents.
Many studies show that talking on a cell phone while driving causes auto accidents. A cell phone can be very distracting, especially when you are driving a vehicle . When it rings, you have to fish it out of your pocket, purse, bag, or briefcase, flip it open, find the “talk” button and then hold it to your ear to speak. All the while, you are not paying attention to the road or the drivers around you, which can, and does, cause auto accidents.
When you are driving, regardless of how experienced a driver you are or how lax traffic may be, you can cause an accident by trying to talk to someone on your cell phone while you are driving.
There are plenty of accessories for your cell phone that can help to prevent accidents such as hands free head sets and Bluetooth, which means you can speak on your cell phone with only the press of one button, and in some cases, by voice activation. These accessories drastically reduce the chance of a auto collision by keeping your attention on the road instead of on your phone.No phone call is that important. And no one is that much in a hurry that you have to fiddle with your cell phone while you are driving. Your caller can leave a message and you can return their phone call.
Ideally, if the phone call is important, finding a safe place to pull your car over on the side of the road, out of the way of traffic is the ideal way to answer your phone while you are driving. However, some accidents are caused when people are swerving over to the side of the road to get to that “safe place” to pull over.
It is important that you remain concentrated on the task at hand, driving, and wait until it is safe to pull over. Slamming on your brakes or swerving across lanes of traffic is not concentrated or safe and can cause cell phone auto accidents really easily.
Not only is answering the phone a distraction for drivers, but reaching for it, dropping it and rooting around for it in a purse, pocket or bag, is equally as distracting. Many accidents have been caused while drivers are distracted trying to locate or reach their cell phones.
The only solution for accidents is to stop using them in vehicles all together, or only use them with hands free, voice activated accessories. In this technological age, it seems that everyone has a cell phone. And everyone is in a hurry to find out who is on the other line.
With cell phone technology has come accessories that limit distractions to drivers. Hands free, voice activated accessories allow drivers to answer the cell phone, speak to the caller and end the call with voice activation only. While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, wrecking your car, driving the price of your auto insurance to the sky or potentially ending your life is a much bigger price to pay.
A Harvard University study shows that cell phones cause over 200 deaths and half a million injuries each year in the United States. These injuries and deaths, as well as the vehicles that are ruined, can be drastically reduced if drivers stay focused on the road and other drivers rather than on answering a call.
When people drive in their vehicles, there are many distractions that can cause accidents, including loud music, smoking cigarettes, crying babies and more. Imagine that you have your music on loud to sooth the crying baby, you’re smoking a cigarette and you can hear your cell phone ringing somewhere in your purse. You are on the highway trying to get to the baby’s doctor appointment in time.
Now, you have some serious distractions. You have to turn down the music, put down your cigarette, sooth the baby yourself, find your cell phone, and answer it all while you are driving. A cell phone auto accident waiting to happen? Absolutely.
This is just one example of how drivers can be so completely distracted while they are driving. In the example above, it would have been easier for that person to ignore the phone call until they got to their destination.
Cell phone auto accidents can be avoided, with proper care and attention while driving.
Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 or visit www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com
to find out more.
Popularity: 28% [?]
Tags: breaking the law, cell phone, citations, driving, harvard study, laws, text messaging, washington state Posted in
June 17th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I’m glad to see this is getting more attention. I’m really surprised on 200 deaths are caused each year.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:03 am
You go Washington State! I’m so glad to see some states are finally beginning to crack down on cell phone usage while operating a vehicle. There’s enough a driver has to be aware of while on the road without the added distraction of a cell phone. Talking on the phone while driving is bad enough, but texting is even worse! I have one teenage driver, and will soon have another on the roads, and I do not want either of them to become a statistic because some driver was more concerned with their cell phone conversation than the road they were driving on. I believe cell phone usage should be banned completely for drivers. Hope other states get on board soon.