Cell Phones in the Car
Most people are willing to admit that driving while distracted creates a more dangerous environment for drivers and other people near the road. We know we shouldn’t try to eat while we drive or reach for objects in the back seat. Unfortunately, far too many people do not treat their cellular phones as the dangerous distraction they truly are.
As more and more people have started using cell phones on a daily basis, the number of drivers talking on the phone behind the wheel has increased dramatically. Even more frightening is the fact that many drivers have begun texting while driving in addition to simply carrying on a normal phone conversation. Text messaging and trying to drive at the same time is easily one of the most dangerous activities commonly practiced by individuals on the roadways.
The Dangers of Texting and Driving
Many studies have been conducted studying the effects of texting while driving. The results are startling:
- Distracted driving resulted in close to 6,000 deaths in 2008.
- More than a quarter of all drivers admit to having text messaged while driving. The problem is probably far more widespread than this statistic suggests.
- The magazine Car and Driver found that while driving 70 mph, one individual took an additional 70 feet to stop while sending a text message. The same individual took only 4 extra feet to react when legally intoxicated.
- A study at Virginia Tech found that truck drivers are over 23 times more likely to be in a “near wreck incident” while texting than they are otherwise.
Even in the face of such frightening statistics, only 14 states had made texting behind the wheel illegal as of June 2009.
Contact Us
If you have been involved in a car accident and believe that the other driver may have been distracted by the use of a cell phone, you may be entitled to compensation. To discuss the details of your situation, call 800-242-2874 and speak to the Wisconsin car accident lawyers at Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C.
