Message from Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys: Avoid All Distractions When Driving
Last week FoxNews reported a fatal car accident involving cell phone usage. A young adult was found to be texting two to three minutes before the accident occurred, and due to her distracted driving, she crashed into a garbage truck head-on. The young woman died during the crash and an unsent message was found on her phone when investigating the accident site.
Texting while driving, and driving distracted in general, is extremely dangerous and, as illustrated here, can cause harmful injuries or even death. A new organization called TXTResponsibily raises awareness to the issues that texting while driving pose. They are working towards new texting laws and educational awareness campaigns to spread the message. As mentioned in previous posts, our Illinois injury attorneys continue to encourage drivers to focus on the road and avoid all distractions. Distraction.gov has a feed on their site with recent accidents to bring awareness to the frequency of these accidents. The site also has a list of top Illinois texting laws including:
• A ban on all cell phone use for all types of bus drivers
• A ban on all cell phone use for all drivers under the age of 19
• A ban on all texting for all drivers
• A ban on all cellphone use for school zones or highway construction zones
According to the site, there are three types of distractions on the road, visual, manual and cognitive. This basically means when drivers aren’t looking at the road, when they are not steering the wheel, and not focusing. There are many types of distractions that drivers partake in, including cell phone usage and texting, using a GPS or social network, talking to others, or using other technologies.
Our Illinois car accident attorneys plead with all drivers to put distractions aside when on the road, because not only can they harm themselves, but also other drivers on the road. Distraction.gov also reports some alarming statistics including that in 2009, 20 percent of crashes involved reports of distracted driving and that “using a cell phone while driving delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.” These statistics show that there is a severe issue in America when it comes to drivers focusing on the road.
Distracted driving is reported to be the number one killer of American teens, according to Negligent Driving. Distracted driving is not something to be taken lightly, and our Illinois accident attorneys are aware of the severity. If you have been injured due to a negligent or distracted driver, or have lost a loved one to another’s mistake, you may be able to receive fair compensation and some piece of mind. Filing a law suit would not only help to cover medical fees, medication costs, or doctor’s appointments, but it would also help to continue to bring attention to the risks that driving distracted have. Please contact our Illinois car accident attorneys to see how we may be able to help you.
