No one can drive safely when they are distracted by anything including their cell phone. Generally, distracted driving of any kind is dangerous to the distracted driver, and other motor vehicle operators and pedestrians. You may also find yourself in trouble with the law if you are texting a person that you know is driving.
People using their cell phone while driving cause 1.6 million crashes each day according to the National Safety Council. About 390,000 injuries occur in these accidents. If you are injured in a texting accident caused by another driver, contact an experienced lawyer to review your case and inform you about all options you have for getting compensation.
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Why Texting While Driving Is Dangerous
Of all other factors that can distract a driver, texting is the most likely to lead to a serious or fatal accident. According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), texting increases the risk of an accident more than regular cell-phone use. The fact that you have to look away from the road for a certain period of time to text on your phone may partly be responsible for this.
Distract.gov indicates that sending and receiving a text makes a driver look away from the road for an average duration of 4.6 seconds. The site states that that time duration is enough to run the full length of an entire football field. According to Distract.gov, you are 23 times more likely to be involved in car crash when you text while driving. The likelihood of a crash increases significantly if you are also impaired or during harsh weather conditions.
Teens And Young Adults
Technology is changing how people drive especially teenagers. Turns out that driver’s in their 20s make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes according to data on Distract.gov. In fact, the under 20 age group forms the greatest proportion of distracted drivers. About 16 percent of all under 20 age group drivers that were involved in a fatal car crash were reported to have been distracted according to the NHTSA.
Among drivers under the age of 20 that were involved in car crashes, 10 percent were distracted at the time those accidents happened. What is surprising is that 94 percent of teens indicate that they know the dangers of texting-while-driving, but 35 percent still do it according to an AAA poll.
What The Law Says About Distracted Driving
In New Jersey, there is a ban on texting and driving because it is extremely dangerous. In addition, you are required to use hands-free devices when talking on your cell phone as you drive. These include a Bluetooth earpiece, dashboard system installed in your vehicle, or a speaker phone feature on your phone. However, hands-free devices are also dangerous because they are distracting according to research by the National Safety Council. This is probably why in New Jersey, school bus drivers are not allowed to use cell phones behind the wheel. Drivers under age 21 that have learner’s permits or probationary licenses cannot use any cell phones eve hand-free devices while they are driving.