Cell Phone Auto Accident Dangers
Info from Washington Metropolitan Area Car Accident Attorneys
Dangers of Cell Phones and Driving Julie Heiden explains how driving while using your cell phone can cause serious and fatal car accidents. Watch the Video
Cell phone use while driving distracts drivers both visually and mentally. A 2006 study by the University of Utah shows that a driver using a cell phone is just as dangerous as a drunk driver. Cell phone use kills thousands of people annually in transportation accidents. The Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC car accident lawyers at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, L.L.P. are trying to increase public awareness of cell phone dangers behind the wheel and to prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths from truck and car wrecks. The information on this page will help you make informed decisions about whether to use your cell phone while driving.
Washington DC and Maryland Some jurisdictions, including the District and Maryland, have laws prohibiting drivers from using cell phones without a hands-free device while driving. A similar law is pending in Virginia. These laws allow police to issue citations to drivers who violate them in an effort to make roads safer. Despite these laws, cell phone use while driving continues to increase nationwide. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency, 81 percent of all U.S. residents admit to using their cell phones while driving, and 52 percent of all 16-to-17-year-olds with cell phones admit to using them on the road.
If you use your cell phone while you drive, even if you use a hands-free device, you are distracted and your reaction time is slower. If you conduct business over the phone while you drive, you could be in even more danger, because you are focusing on the conversation and not on the world around you. Despite the fact that a business call may be urgent, you should pull over to discuss business on your cell phone, whether you are in a conference call or just checking in with your office.
Texting while driving is an even bigger problem than talking while driving. When you type or read a text message, your attention is completely away from the road, and you have little or no physical control over the vehicle. The result of increased texting while driving is more fatal car accidents. The American Journal of Public Health published an article in September 2010, which disclosed that 16,000 people have died in the U.S. between 2001 and 2007 because of texting while driving.
Teenagers text and drive more than any other group. The Pew Research Center indicates that a quarter of American teenagers aged 16 and 17 with cell phones admit to texting while driving, and almost 50 percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 say they have been in a car while the driver was texting.
Using your cell phone while you drive in any capacity is a dangerous game, and even if you do not use your phone on the road, you are at the mercy of other drivers who do. Contact the Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC car accident attorneys at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, L.L.P. for more information. If a driver on a cell phone has injured you or has injured or killed a family member in a motor vehicle accident, you may have the right to compensation for that driver’s negligence. Contact us today for a free consultation.