Distracted Driving Accidents

By many measures, distracted driving has surpassed speeding and drinking and driving as the leading cause of car accidents in America. Distracted driving is responsible for 3,000 deaths annually and a quarter of all crashes on the road. Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles the chance of getting in a wreck, and looking away from the road for five seconds is enough time to travel the length of a football field at highway speed. It’s no wonder a person is six times more likely to have a wreck while texting than drinking and driving.

Texting while driving and other kinds of distracted driving are classic examples of negligence, and drivers who cause collisions because they were distracted are liable to the crash victims for the harm they’ve caused. If you’ve been seriously injured in a Broward County distracted driving car accident, lawyer David Benenfeld can help you get compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other legal damages. Call The Law Offices of David Benenfeld for immediate assistance, and we’ll go to work right away securing medical care and compensation to help you get better after a crash.

People Know Distracted Driving Is Dangerous, But They Continue To Do It

In a study conducted by AAA, 96% of people surveyed said it was very dangerous or extremely dangerous to text while driving, yet 41% of those same respondents admitted to reading a text while driving in the last month, and 32% owned up to sending one. Almost 80% of the survey takers said talking on the phone while driving was dangerous, but 52% said they did just that in the previous 30 days.

People’s perceptions that distracted driving is dangerous are spot-on. A large-scale study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that the driver’s attention was turned away from the road or the task of driving in 80% of the accidents studied.

Phone makers and app makers have been exploring ways to limit access to their devices and applications while a car is in motion, but ultimately, the responsibility to drive safely rests with the driver. If there is a distraction in the vehicle demanding your attention, pull over and deal with it, whether it’s an incoming text or call, a spilled drink, or a rowdy passenger. We are all in a hurry and eager to start our trips, but program your playlist or route your navigation before you start driving, and you’ll increase your chances of arriving at your destination safe and sound.

Distractions Can Be Visual, Manual, Cognitive… Or All Three

Safety researchers classify driving distractions into three categories – manual, visual, and cognitive. When you are texting while driving, you are engaged in all three types of distractions: your hands are on your phone instead of the steering wheel, your eyes are on your phone instead of the road, and your brain is engaged in reading and responding to a text instead of paying attention to the traffic around you.

Distracted Driving Is Dangerous… And Illegal

Texting while driving is illegal in Florida, and it’s a primary offense, meaning police officers can pull people over and ticket them just for texting while driving. Violations of the law are noncriminal traffic infractions; a first offense is a nonmoving violation, but a second offense within five years is a moving violation, meaning double the fines plus points on your driver’s license, which can lead to license suspension and astronomical rises in your car insurance rates.

Violating a traffic safety law is often considered negligence per se, making it easier to prove that a driver who was cited for texting while driving in a crash was negligent. Not only can you recover damages for your serious injury against a negligent driver, but punitive damages might also be appropriate against a driver who intentionally ignored the law and engaged in this dangerous behavior. Sunrise car accident lawyer David Benenfeld will aggressively pursue your claims and fight to get you the full amount of compensation for your injuries.

Get Care And Compensation After A Sunrise Distracted Driving Car Accident

If you’ve been injured in a distracted driving car accident in Broward County, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach, call The Law Offices of David Benenfeld in Sunrise at (954) 677-0155(954) 677-0155 We can also meet you at our offices in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach, and if you can’t travel to our offices, we’ll come to you. Don’t wait to get justice and compensation after a Sunrise distracted driving car accident. Call The Law Offices of David Benenfeld for immediate assistance.