Injury Law Blog : Florida Injury Lawyer & Attorney : LaBovick Law Group : Serving West Palm, Boynton, North Palm, West Palm Beach, Jupiter

As an attorney for more than 15 years representing people who were injured, or even killed, at the hands of careless and sometime reckless drivers, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation on banning the use of portable electronic devices makes a lot of sense.  While this ban may apply to all portable electronic devices, the biggest concern for everyone should be any use cell phones, from talking to texting to emailing. None of this should be done while driving. In Florida, a motor vehicle is considered a “dangerous instrumentality.”  Operating such a dangerous instrumentality without your full attention focused on the road puts not only you, but all the others on the road as well, in danger. When an automobile accident occurs, it not only affects the lives of those involved, but it also affects the lives of their family members.

Currently, 35 States and Washington D.C. ban texting while driving.  Ten States and Washington D.C. ban hand-held devices, like cell phones.  In 2010, there were more than 3,000 fatalities due to distracted drivers. It is time that Florida falls in line and also becomes one of these states that ban hand-held cell phone use and texting while driving. Some even say using hands-free devices while driving can be just as distracting as using hand-held devices. Automobile accidents can happen in an instant. Without your full attention focused on the road, you are needlessly subjecting yourself, and others, to serious danger that could otherwise easily be avoided.

See Today news story on the bans against hand-held devices in cars: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/45666321#45666321

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Approximately 1.6 million traffic accidents happen on roads across the U.S. because people are talking on cell phones. Studies show that eight in ten Americans admit to driving while on their cell phones.

A report by The Harvard Mental Health Letter found that talking on a cell phone while driving is more dangerous than talking to a passenger in the car. Researchers found that the drivers talking by cell phone were more likely to drift between lanes and miss an exit than were drivers talking to passengers.

Some drivers feel that using a hands-free cell phone will make it better, but research shows otherwise. Studies show that hands-free cell phones can be just as distracting and that any type of cell phone used while driving can cause impairments similar to drunk driving.

In 2009, there were 33,963 Americans killed in traffic crashes and many that were injured in traffic accidents. Automobile traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for Americans ages 3 to 33. Those numbers are shocking, but because drivers spend so much time behind the wheel, there is a false sense of security despite knowing that several people have died or been seriously injured on our highways. This feeling of safety brings on complacency. Operating a vehicle is serious business and not paying attention to the highway can lead to deadly results.

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the Research on distracted driving reveals some surprising facts:
 

• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured.
• In 2008, almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction.
• The younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
• Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

Distracted driving and cell phone use is a serious issue and several publications have published research on the dangers in addition to the Harvard Mental Letter. The New England Journal of Medicine published the article “Talking about Driving and Distraction”. The publication Human Factors published a detailed story on “A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver”.

We encourage you to take the Pledge to no DWD: Driving While Distracted. Click on the following link to take the Pledge to STOP Driving While Distracted.
 
Click on the following link to read more from The Harvard Medical Letter on Why cell phone conversations distract drivers

Click on the following link to read more from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Dangers of Distracted Driving

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The reliance on cell phones has led to an increase in talking on a cell phone while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at any given moment of the day, 800,000 drivers of passenger vehicles are talking on handheld cell phones. Unfortunately, statistics show driving while talking or texting on a cell phone are two leading driver distractions that cause car accidents. According to a January 2010, report from the National Safety Council an estimated 1.6 million crashes (28 percent of all crashes) are caused each year by drivers talking on cell phones (1.4 million crashes) and texting (200,000 crashes) based on data from the NHTSA and peer reviewed research.

When a driver takes their eyes off the road to text a message, dial a number or becomes absorbed in a conversation, their ability to concentrate on the road is impaired and can cause an accident. Studies show that driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. Driver distractions accounted for 5,870 deaths and an estimated 515,000 personal injuries that involved police crash reports in 2008, according to the NHTSA.

Personal Injury and Employer Liability
Talking a cell phone for company business is a common event for many employees. However, an employer may be liable if an employee causes an accident while on the phone in the scope of doing business. A personal injury victim may be able to file suit against a driver/employee involved in a cell phone related accident and their company in the certain circumstances.
A few examples include:  

• The phone call pertained to business
• The driver was performing company business on his or her cell phone while driving.
• The accident happened because the driver was distracted by the phone call
• The company provided the cell phone used by the driver/employee

A few prominent examples of personal injury suits involving cell phone use of employees while driving include the following:

•  A salesperson for lumber wholesaler Dyke Industries was driving and using a cell phone at the time of an accident that left a 78-year old woman severely disabled. The salesperson denied using the cell phone at the time of the accident; however, phone records showed otherwise. A jury held the employer, liable and awarded a $20.9 million verdict, that later settled for $16.2 million.
• An employee for International Paper rear-ended another driver, while on her company cell phone. The plaintiff lost her arm because of the car accident. International Paper settled the personal injury suit for $5 million.
• A teacher for the state of Hawaii struck a pedestrian tourist while talking on the cell phone. The plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury because of the car accident. The personal injury lawsuit settled for $1.5 million.
• A stockbroker for investment banking firm Smith Barney, talking on the cell phone to a potential client, struck and killed a motorcyclist. Although the stockbroker was using his personal cell phone, the plaintiff argued that Smith Barney should be liable for not providing proper training to employees on cell phone safety issues. The wrongful death suit settled for $500,000.

Cell Phone Use while Driving Restrictions by State
Highway Safety and cutting down on driver distractions and cell phone use while driving is important to several states. Many states have cell phone use restrictions while driving. However, presently, no state completely bans all types of cell phone while driving. The Governor’s Highway Association sends the stern message of not to use cell phones or any electronic device while driving, regardless of the law.

Hand Held Cell Phones – As of March 2010, seven states require the use of a hands free device for drivers talking on a cell phone. The use of hand held cell phones while driving is banned in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah and Washington, plus Washington, D.C and the Virgin Islands. These laws are primary enforcement, with the exception of Washington. This means that a driver may be cited for using a hand held cell phone without other traffic offense.

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