What Is “Distracted Driving”?
Some law enforcement officers say the most dangerous driver behavior today is cellphone use behind the wheel, and that it causes as many accidents as driving drunk.
Driving while using a cellphone is only one of a class of behaviors that causes accidents. This class of behaviors is known as distracted driving, and it includes these activities and more:
- Eating
- Engaging in extended conversation
- Combing your hair in the rearview mirror
- Disciplining your children
- Fishing coins from the ashtray
- Reading a road map
- Entering information into a GPS
- Changing music in a CD or MP3 player
Devastating Injuries Caused By Cellphone Use
It is shocking that so many people are putting these trivial activities above consideration for the safety of others. For this reason, the courts allow us to seek compensation beyond the usual level for injuries caused by distracted driving. Above and beyond medical costs, lost income, and pain and suffering, people injured in distracted driving accidents can ask for punitive damages, which can double or even triple the total damages.
This is a lesson — that distracted driving is as irresponsible as drunk driving — that offenders need to learn.
If you have suffered an injury in a texting accident or because another driver simply wasn’t paying attention, call lawyers Randy or Bo Briggs at The Briggs Law Firm in Ocala, Florida, at 352-671-4600, — or write to our attorneys using this form.