Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers
If you have been injured because of another driver's negligence, you deserve to recover fair compensation to pay for medical bills, lost wages and other expenses. At The Law Office of Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi, our attorneys are dedicated to getting the maximum amount possible for our clients who have been the victims of distracted driving.
New Jersey Texting While Driving Accident Lawyers
Even when using a Bluetooth or other hands-free device, cell phone use while driving is much more dangerous than many people realize. Even a second of lost focus can result in a driver crossing over the center line, running a red light or other negligent driving scenarios that can result in dangerous situations.The federal government recognizes that this behavior is so dangerous that it has made it illegal for commercial truck drivers to text while driving. Our attorneys will move quickly to build a case to pursue the compensation you deserve. We will hold the other driver accountable for his or her actions.
Distracted Driving is a Problem at a National Level
Here are a few of the stunning numbers that jump out at us when we take a closer look at this new national problem:
In 2011, a whopping 23% of all auto accidents involved cell phone usage, which amounted to 1.3 million accidents. To put that number in perspective, realize that those 1 million+ accidents would not have occurred before technology evolved and began the widespread sale of mobile devices like cell phones.
Five seconds is the minimal amount of time that your attention is diverted from the road when you are texting while driving. At 55 mph, your vehicle will travel the length of a football field while your eyes are off the road and on your screen and touch pad.
Texting increases your chance of having an accident by time 23! Other related motions jack up your chances of having a collision, such as dialing a phone number (2.8 times more likely), talking or listening during a phone conversation (1.3 times more likely) or even reaching for your device (1.4 times more likely).A full 13% of teen drivers aged 18-20 involved in vehicle crashes admitted to talking or texting on their phones just before the collision. (Link to a blog post on this topic)
Among the youngest teen drivers, aged 16 and 17, more than 1/3 says that they have texted while driving.
Despite the statistics above, which definitively prove the hazards of texting while driving, 77% of young adult drivers are “confident” or “very confident” that they can text while driving, while 55% claim that it is “easy” to text and drive at the same time. This reveals a huge gap between reality and opinion on this subject, with perilous consequences for all drivers on the road.
Teens that do text while driving have been proven to spend 10% of their time outside of their proper lane as their vehicle cruises down the road, increasing the risk for all around them.
Adults are not at all exempt from this hazardous habit. Fifteen percent of teens say that they have seen their parents text and drive at the same time. Twenty-seven percent of adults admit that they have sent or read a text message while driving.
Here’s a truly scary number: almost half of all children aged 12-17 have been in a car while the driver was texting. That’s a lot of young people endangered by a driver who believes s/he must send or read a text message!
Other Dangerous Driving Habits
Besides the dangers of texting while driving, other actions involving cell phones carry similar risks:- Talking on a cell phone while driving
- Emailing while driving
- Surfing the Web while driving
- Using APPS while driving
- DUI
- Driving While Medicated
- Driving While Tired
- Distracted Driving
- Running Red Lights
- Speeding
- Tailgating
- Not Wearing Seatbelt
- Failing to Maintain Your Vehicle
- Eating While Driving
- Failing to Use Signals
- Failing to Obey Traffic Signals
- Otherwise using a PDA while driving
- Using Google Maps while driving