Texting and Driving
Texting while driving can be a dangerous practice that diverts a driver’s focus away from the road, increasing their risk of car accidents and motor vehicle incidents.
Car crashes often result in injuries or deaths for all parties involved, making the recovery from such accidents especially challenging and heartbreaking for victims and their loved ones.
There are various strategies available to drivers to prevent car crashes and injuries, including avoiding distracted driving and using hands-free phones while behind the wheel.
If you want to drive safely, store your cell phone in the glovebox or back of your console, using it only when necessary. That way, you’ll be able to pay attention to what’s happening on the road while keeping yourself and your passengers safe.
Texting while driving is one of the leading causes of auto accidents and fatalities, according to research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Drivers texting behind the wheel are 23 times more likely to cause an accident than drivers who aren’t using their phones while behind the wheel.
Many may believe texting and driving to be no big deal; however, the reality is quite the opposite; this behavior poses a great risk to both yourself and others on the road. Therefore, it is vital to take time out to consider its consequences on both parties involved.
Breaking a habit may not be easy, but there are several strategies and apps you can download that can help.
1. Draw two X’s on both thumbs and say, “Don’t text and drive!” as a simple reminder that it is more important to focus on driving than texting while behind the wheel.
2. Take the pledge with your friends that you won’t text and drive while on the road, pledging a lifelong pledge that every time you drive will involve following this pledge and initiating discussions about its dangers. This pledge can start conversations about texting while driving risks.
Driver Errors
All car accidents are the result of human error, with drivers acting responsibly behind the wheel most of the time; however, some accidents could have been avoided through better planning and awareness.
One of the primary sources of driver errors is distraction, so the most effective way to combat it is to put away your phone and keep focused on driving. Even just looking away briefly to check text can cause your vehicle to drift into another lane and cause an accident.
Distracted driving is a widespread problem across all types of vehicles on all roadways. According to studies conducted, distracted drivers account for more than one-third of car crashes nationwide.
Additional sources of misdirection beyond cell phones include eating or drinking, switching radio stations, or fiddling with the navigation system of your vehicle. According to estimates by the National Safety Council, it only takes seconds for someone looking at a text message on their cell phone to change lanes and cause a crash.
Be a Responsible Driver to Avoid Distracted Driving! One effective way of avoiding being the victim of distracted driving is becoming a responsible driver and doing your part to ensure local communities remain safe. For instance, try not driving when fatigued or sleepy and ensure your children do not ride in the backseat – especially given that child traffic deaths in America has seen an upsurge from 2007 until 2018 (increase from 3 per 1000 people to 5 per 1000!). So take your responsibilities as seriously as you possibly can!
Distracted Drivers
Distracted drivers pose an enormous danger on the road. Every year they account for thousands of fatal crashes and cause nearly 400,000 injuries – an alarming statistic which should serve as a stark warning to all drivers that they must never take their eyes off of the road!
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines distractions as any activity that diverts a driver’s attention away from driving tasks at hand, including texting, talking on the phone, eating while driving and using a navigation system.
As it only takes three seconds for distracted drivers to become involved in an accident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has made texting while driving illegal.
Texting can be one of the most hazardous distractions, taking drivers’ eyes away from the road for five seconds at a time and possibly preventing them from seeing an oncoming car or pedestrian they otherwise may have missed before they were hit by one.
Mental distractions are another prevalent type of distracted driving, occurring when drivers’ thoughts shift away from the task at hand, such as conversing with friends, fighting with spouses or daydreaming.
NHTSA statistics reveal that nearly half of drivers involved in car accidents were distracted when involved; it’s easy to understand why so many people die annually in such accidents.
If you have been involved in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, financial compensation could be available to you. To learn more about filing a personal injury lawsuit against them and to determine your rights and options in relation to this, it would be advisable to speak to an experienced car accident attorney.
When injured in a car crash due to distracted drivers, it is crucial that you speak to an experienced lawyer immediately in order to file your claim. Keep in mind that many such incidents can be prevented simply by staying focused on what you’re doing at that moment in time.
Remind yourself that while most motor vehicle accidents involve people inside, there are also thousands of incidents every year in which pedestrians or cyclists were involved – this should serve as a reminder.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on collisions are one of the most frequent car accidents caused by reckless drivers in California; this type of crash typically happens when one lane collides with the other on two-lane freeways with only one direction of travel.
Head-on collisions can be especially hazardous as their force is much greater when two cars collide from opposite directions than when colliding side-by-side. While side impact or rear end accidents typically involve less force, head-on crashes often result in serious injuries and deaths to people on both vehicles involved.
Even though rear-end collisions have the reputation for being the deadliest car accidents, they remain relatively uncommon due to roads having numerous markings, signs, and barriers designed to keep drivers apart and prevent collisions from happening in both directions.
Warnings alone may not always suffice, however. Drivers may become frustrated, distracted, drowsy, or impaired due to speeding; speeding can increase head-on collision risk by up to 2x according to NHTSA research.
If you are the victim of a head-on collision, it is crucial that you seek legal assistance immediately from a lawyer in order to protect your rights and seek compensation for losses sustained. A free consultation with an experienced local attorney near you is the ideal way of doing this and will enable them to outline legal options as well as give an estimate as to how much compensation might be available to you.
When injured in a head-on crash, victims have the right to recover compensation from those responsible. This could include medical bills, disability costs, lost income and any other damages suffered as a result. Unfortunately, however, certain states follow contributory negligence rules which make seeking justice more challenging for accident victims.