Given the number of traffic deaths these days due to the use of cell phones – either talking or texting or both while driving – there is a clear trend for lawmakers to heed.
A quick look around at some statistics will let you know just how serious this particular addictive habit seems to be, and not just with car drivers, but with truckers and bus drivers. In fact, just recently, the Transportation Department banned text messaging by truckers and bus drivers while on the road. Those caught doing it in contravention of the law could be fined up to $2,750. It’s a high penalty, but then the price it may cost an innocent person hit by a texting driver is high as well, as a life is priceless.
There are a few more figures that should immediately capture your attention about texting while driving. Did you know that when someone is texting while behind the wheel of a vehicle they may travel the full length of a football field in about six seconds? That’s at a speed of 55 mph. Six seconds of distraction that could cause the death of another. Six seconds when a driver’s attention is not fully engaged on the road or the task of driving. Driving while distracted – to death.
If you look at the scenario of someone texting while driving at 55 mph and realize they may travel the full length of a football field, you suddenly realize that they are doing that without looking at what they are doing. Their eyes are on the cell phone. In other words, they may as well be blindfolded. This is negligence and recklessness at its worst.
There are also figures available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that indicate that there are over 812,000 drivers using hand held cell phones “daily.” That means about 11 percent of the traffic on the road. Of the 11 percent, about 6 percent (cell phone users) are involved in crashes that result in approximately 2,600 deaths and over 342,000 injuries. That’s a high personal injury toll for talking on a cell phone.
Consider this as well; that one in four American teenagers admit to texting while driving and about 50% of teens recount they have been a passenger in a vehicle where the driver has carried on a texting conversation with someone. These kinds of statistics, revealed by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, are frightening. Worse yet is the revelation that most average all-American teens who have cell phones send, receive, read and respond to close to 3,000 texts a month – many of them dealt with while they are driving.
While this particular study focuses on teen drivers, texting is not just a teenage phenomenon. It crosses many age barriers. The question is why do teens and older drivers, despite knowing the risks associated with texting and talking on a cell phone while driving, still go ahead and do it. It seems to go right to the heart of a very human need to stay in touch; to be a part of something; to communicate. Unfortunately, this need at times completely obliterates caution and driving safely.
Another reason people still persist in using a cell phone while driving is because they have been brainwashed by the media to think they can multi-task and the cell phone lets them do just that. Sadly, cell phone discussions and texting while driving don’t mix. At one time, no one had a cell phone, and they were able to multi-task without using potentially deadly technology.
Here is something else to think about when it comes to the high crash rate associated with the use of cell phones while driving; for every two seconds a driver’s eyes are off the road, the chances of a crash shoots up to twice as likely. This figure is thanks to Triple A. This kind of revelation makes sense, as texting while driving demands a person’s complete attention and that means the person isn’t paying attention to their driving.
And again, it’s not just car drivers who are not paying attention to what they are doing, as a study of truckers by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute points out. Their figures indicate a startling find; that truckers who texted while driving were 23 times more at risk to be involved in a crash or a close call.
Many states ban using mobile devices for talking and texting and while it may be the law, people are not always following the law. Driving while distracted is against the law in California, as well as texting while driving. Whether the cell phone is hand held or hands free, a distraction is a distraction, and distraction kills. Granted, there is a great debate nationwide about the use of hands free versus hand held cell phone devices.
Some feel hands free would reduce the deadly crash rate associated with hand held cell phones. Others feel that even hands free requires a certain level of engagement to use and thus takes a driver’s attention away from the road. It’s fairly clear this particular debate has no resolution and that most people who text and talk aren’t about to stop.
In the meantime, those who are victims of texting/talking drivers will continue to discuss their options with a personal injury attorney whose business is obtaining justice and compensation from those very same drivers.
