It’s hard to believe that just a generation ago we somehow managed to live without cellular telephones. We communicated from home, from the office or from a public pay phone if absolutely necessary while traveling. All those “urgent” phone calls that we now make while driving managed to wait until we got where we were going. Now, most of us can’t imagine leaving home without our cell phone. It is comforting to know that you have it in your purse or pocket – just in case of emergency. Regrettably, most of us don’t use it only in an emergency while we are driving. Studies on talking while driving show us that close to 80% of Americans talk on their cell phone while driving. That’s an incredibly high number of people that are out there driving and talking. Those same studies also show us that almost 25% of all car accidents have cell phone use as a contributing factor. Even more dangerous is texting while driving. As many are aware, The Law Offices of Ledger & Associates has been retained to work on the largest texting accident in Unites States History. In September 2008, a MetroLink Train conductor was texting and ran a red light resulting in the collision with a Union Pacific Train. The massive accident resulted in twenty-five deaths and one hundred and thirty five injured passengers. All because of texting!
Estimates are that at any given time of the day, at least 10% of all motorists on the road are talking on their cell phones. It is not surprising then that around 2,600 people die each year as a result of accidents caused by cell phone usage and another 330,000 are injured. Talking on a cell phone while driving makes it four times more likely that you will be involved in an injury accident. The risk of being involved in an accident while talking on a cell phone is so high that 6 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington) as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands ban all drivers from talking on handheld phones while driving. The reason that talking on a cell phone while driving is so dangerous is that talking is a huge distraction to drivers. While using a hands-free device helps, it doesn’t remove all the risk. The largest distraction in using a cell phone does come from dialing, but simply talking has proven to be a distraction to drivers as well. Although the risks of talking and driving appear to be well founded, millions of Americans continue to engage in this risky behavior every day putting all of our lives at risk on the nation’s streets and highways.
If you have been involved in an accident and you believe that talking while driving was a factor in the accident, then you may have the basis for a personal injury case. Seek the advice and counsel of an experienced California personal injury attorney immediately. If the person that hit you was talking on their phone while driving, then they may have been driving negligently and you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you have suffered as a result of the accident. Only an experienced California personal injury attorney can evaluate your specific case and determine what options you have for pursuing compensation. The attorneys at Ledger & Associates are available to answer all your questions and help you navigate the legal process. Give them a call at 1-800-300-0001 or visit them on the Internet at www.ledgerlaw.com
