Texting While Driving – What Can Happen and Why You Shouldn’t Do It

Texting While Driving – What Can Happen and Why You Shouldn’t Do It

Texting while you’re driving is a serious mistake. In fact, in many states, it is illegal. States have outlawed texting and sometimes calling on your phone while you’re driving because it increases the risk of accidents. Unless a person has a Bluetooth hands-free system, they often are not allowed to use their phones while they drive.

Statistics about Texting and Driving

It takes at least five seconds for you to look at your phone when you receive a text message. If you’re going about 55 MPH, this is the same as if you drove the length of a football field and didn’t look at the road.

According to research, almost one-fourth of collisions in 2011 involved cell phones. That means 1.3 million car wrecks. Drivers have admitted to texting just before a crash, which is an activity that increases the risk of a collision by 23 times. How serious is texting and driving? According to one study, teenagers who are texting while they are behind the wheel are in the wrong lane about 10 percent of the time. However, many of them feel confident in their ability to text and safely handle the vehicle.

How Texting While Driving Causes Accidents

There are several problems with texting and driving. First, it allows you to drift out of your lane, increasing your chances of being side-swiped. Second, it prevents you from slowing down when you’re coming up on traffic in front of you.

Another issue with texting and driving is that a person does not realize a crash is about to occur in time to either prevent it or slow down and reduce the severity of the collision.

A person who is caught texting just before an accident is more likely to be found to be the person at fault. They will be held responsible for damages and injuries to the other parties who are involved.

Because an accident can occur in many situations when someone is texting behind the wheel, the injuries received are also varied. A person may experience head, neck or back trauma, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, dislocated or severed limbs, burns, cuts and more. These injuries can range from minor to life-changing.

Of course, teens are not the only ones to blame. Plenty of adults send texts and emails while they are driving. In fact, one in five drivers of any age has confessed to texting while they are behind the wheel.

If you have been injured in a car accident because someone was texting and not paying attention to where they were going, you may be entitled to compensation. The responsible party may be required to pay for your medical costs as well as lost wages and other damages. However, the insurance company may want to find a way to put the blame on you. Don’t try to fight the insurance company on your own. Hire an attorney who will help you receive the compensation you are entitled to if you were injured by someone who was texting while they were driving.


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