When You are Involved in a Cell Phone Related Car Accident
According to the Human Factors quarterly journal, “Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year” (2005). The same study reported that motorists who are engaged in cell phone conversations while driving are less capable than drunk drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding .08. These statistics are frightening considering how pervasive cell phones are in our society. With a greater awareness of the potential cell phones have to distract drivers, many states, and even cities, are adopting laws that limit or restrict the use of cell phones while driving. It is important to be aware of these laws while travelling in other states and visiting other cities so you do not inadvertently break the law. Even in states and cities where there are no restrictions on cell phone use by motorists, limiting cell phone use while driving will make you a more attentive driver, ready to react when the unexpected occurs.
When you are involved in an accident where a cell phone is involved, you should follow the same procedures that you would after any car accident (see What to Expect When You are in a Car Accident and How to Preserve Evidence after a Car Accident).
It is important to contact a car accident lawyer who has experience with cell phone car accident claims as laws are changing in regards to cell phone usage while driving as well as who can be held liable for cell phone car accidents. An accident attorney with expertise in cell phone car accident claims will be familiar with the most current laws and be better able to help you obtain a fair recovery for your damages.
A driver distracted by talking on a cell phone can be charged with negligence, whereby you are entitled to compensation for your damages and/or injury. You may also be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against a driver who was using a cell phone at the time of the accident if you sustain injuries as a result of the car accident. A cell phone car accident lawyer will know how to pursue the course of legal action that is best for your damages.
Not only can the motorist using a cell phone that caused an accident be charged with negligence, but employers may also be found negligent if their employee was making a business related call at the time of the accident. Many cases have been won against companies whose workers cause accidents while driving and talking on the phone. It is, therefore, important to find an attorney who is willing to investigate your claim carefully and pursue a claim against the cell phone user’s employer if necessary.
While many claims against employers of cell phone users in car accidents have been successful, there is yet to be a successful lawsuit carried out against wireless carriers for their subscriber’s negligence. While it is not impossible that the cell phone carrier may be liable for their subscriber’s cell phone-related car accident, a case has not been won against a cell phone carrier.
I, too, believe driving while talking on a cell phone is more dangerous than not. However, comparing deaths related to talking on a cell phone and drunk driving is grossly misleading. According to numerous sources regarding drunk driving deaths, 2,600 deaths resulting from talking on a cell phone is dramatically lower than driving drunk (16,885 deaths by alcoholalert.com per 2005 – a conservative estimate). Driving drunk is significantly more dangerous than talking on a cell phone while driving. The two comparisons are not accurate.
To all people who may read this article and the comments that maybe left, I hope you all are looking at the credibility of websites you may be looking at when it cames to looking at the statistics of driving well talking on cell phones or accidents caused by drunk drivers. It is good to know your sources and to be sure that the information you are reading is accurate. Any one person can create a website and fabricate the information they are putting on their site. Please just be sure before leaving commments on someone elses web page that you know the information you are presenting is factual and not false information.
wow thank you soo much for that info. not. point is that cell phone laws are more important than seat belt laws and just as important as drunk driving laws. When you take your eyes and hands away to type a text you are more dangerous than a completely intoxicated person.
so I have been checking out your blog for the past week or two and it is pretty good, do you have a subscription feed?
I would like to know how do you know if a cell phone was the cause of an accident? How would the police know? A classroom discussion question.
they could look at your phone records. Maybe?
Stephanie asked: “I would like to know how do you know if a cell phone was the cause of an accident? How would the police know?” It is a moot question if using a cell phone is legal in the accident jurisdiction. And if the driver using the cell phone is dead, that pretty much make it moot as well. A woman I know recently rear-ended a car and caused a chain reaction while she was checking her e-mail on a Blackberry. Her car was totalled but no one was injured. She was ticketed for some infraction that had nothing to do with the use of her cell and she surely did not volunteer that she was reading e-mail. Since it happened in Pennsylvania, there is no state law that prohibits this kind of inattentive driving. The state is considering a bill that would make texting a secondary offence for youthful drivers. The proposal has absolutely no teeth and is unlikely to be enforced if it is enacted.
Not wearing a seatbelt in PA is also a secondary offence, so that law has very little impact. The police usually do not bother to fine the drivers whose bodies are found in trees and ditches.
I live in South Africa and run a NPO for road safety. When you speak about road safety everybody thinks that wearing a seatbelt is road safety.
I lost my son in a accident and dedicated my live to road safety in South Africa. I hope that everybody will realize that road safety starts when your take responsibility when you are in control of a motor vehicle.
Please let us all take responsibility, don’t drink and drive, use your cell phone and buckle up. Let us all drive to stay alive.
Kind regards
Alida Jones
alida@drivemoresafely.co.za
http://www.drivemoresafely.co.za
I, too, believe driving while talking on a cell phone is more dangerous than not. However, comparing deaths related to talking on a cell phone and drunk driving is grossly misleading. According to numerous sources regarding drunk driving deaths, 2,600 deaths resulting from talking on a cell phone is dramatically lower than driving drunk (16,885 deaths by alcoholalert.com per 2005 – a conservative estimate). Driving drunk is significantly more dangerous than talking on a cell phone while driving. The two comparisons are not accurate.