Distracted Driving: South Florida Personal Injury Attorney
In today’s cellphone and technology craze we have seen a huge spike in the number of car accidents that occur in Florida because of distracted driving. There are many common distractions that occur while driving but texting is the most likely to cause injury or harm. Contact a South Florida Personal Injury Attorney today if you have been in a accident with a distracted driver. Texting has become so common that it has almost been normalized how regular it is to be driving a two ton piece of metal 60 miles per hour and NOT even be paying attention to the road and other cars!
There are three categories of distracted driving on the road:
• Visual, or taking one’s eyes off of the road;
• Manual, or taking one’s hands off of the steering wheel; and
• Cognitive, or focusing on something other than driving.
Texting involves all three of the distractions listed above and is the most dangerous behavior, not only to yourself but to the others that share the road. When you send a text while driving you become visually, manually, and cognitively focused on your phone instead of focusing on the road. This significantly raises the likelihood of an accident occurring (and when you think about it, when you are driving a car that fast but intentionally not paying attention, how much of an “accident” is it!).
According to a study done this past April, Florida is ranked second for distracted driving, only to Louisiana. This study was done using the EverDrive app which scores drivers on data gathered using its motion-sensing technology. EverDrive measured “speeding, sudden acceleration, aggressive turning, hard braking and other movement while the driver’s phone was being used.” The study found that within the last 30 days (at the time of publishing this article), 92% of drivers use their cell phones while driving. The app logged “2.7 million vehicle trips and 230 million miles driven.” Florida drivers received the second-worst scoring for distracted driving. While our firm remains somewhat skeptical of these numbers, it is important to understand that this isn’t a small problem, the vast majority of drivers are using their phones!
The state department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles stated that in 2016 there were almost 50,000 crashes involving distracted driving in Florida. That staggering number means that there are more than five crashes every hour. These distracted driving crashes accounted for more than 3,500 serious injuries and 233 deaths. But even these statistics may still be too low. Many people do not want to volunteer information that they were on their phone when they were involved in an accident. Telling the driver who you just crashed into that you were on Instagram or snapping yourself in your favorite puppy filter would probably not go over well. For that reason, many these numbers could conceivably be higher.
The National Safety Council also presented some frightening statics. According to the NSC, using a cell phone, even with a hands-free device, makes you four times as likely to be involved in a crash, and cell phones are responsible for around 25% of all crashes. Texting is even more dangerous as, on average, it takes drivers eyes away from the road for 4.6 seconds. If a driver is going 55 miles per hour, he will travel nearly the length of a football field before coming to a complete stop!
Shamis & Gentile, P.A. South Florida Personal Injury Attorney
The numbers do not lie; distracted driving, especially texting while driving, is a real problem. If you have been injured by a distracted driver call a trusted South Florida Personal Injury Attorney today. Shamis & Gentile, P.A. is here to help. These personal injury lawsuits are often complex and require the experience and skill of a South Florida Personal Injury Attorney.
