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

Driver distraction caused the deaths of nearly 6,000 people and the injuries of 500,000 people last year according to new government reports on auto safety. There is a correlation of using mobile devices while driving. This includes texting while driving and talking on the cell.

Transportation officials recently released a report that showed driver distraction being involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008. The Transportation report shows that 515,000 people were injured and 5,870 people were killed last year, with driver distraction being involved in the accident.

The Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, government officials, safety advocates, researchers and lawmakers are coming together this week to discuss ways of setting new restrictions on texting and using devices while driving.  Young adults involved car accidents where they were texting while driving are also involved in the safety discussions. New data supports that 16 percent of all under-20 drivers involved in fatal car accidents were distracted while driving.

Every day, people text and drive, even in places where it's outlawed. According to Secretary LaHood "We feel a very strong obligation to point to incidents where people have been killed or where serious injury has occurred.”

Earlier this year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that collision risks were 23 times greater when drivers of heavy trucks texted while driving.  Dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device increased risk of collision about six times in cars and trucks. The popular magazine Car and Driver released a report that showed texting and driving to be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. This report obviously has caused a lot of controversy and discussions among safety advocates.

Some groups want tough laws on the distractions and are asking for restrictions on talking and texting by drivers of tractor trailers, motor coaches and large vans.

Automobile Manufacturers and the Governors Highway Safety Association are on the same page in support of restrictions for texting while driving.  Surprisingly, 11 automakers have come together on a united front with the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers to support this important issue of auto safety and the use of handheld devices.

The Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) believes that education and enforcement are critical to changing the behavior of drivers. A series of public Service Announcements warning teen drivers of the dangers on distracted driving will be paid for by the National Safety Council and CTIA in an effort to promote safe driving.

We encourage all of our readers to exercise caution and to use judgment when driving and using a cell phone. Texting while driving is dangerous and increases your risk of an accident.

To read more on efforts to enhance driver safety, visit the following: CTIA and National Safety Council, Distracted Driving Summit, Driver distractions and safety efforts, ABC News Report on How do you stop Texting while Driving

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In the City of Parkland the texting while driving debate is heating up.  On Monday night city commissioners made history when they unanimously approved the ban which would make it illegal to send text messages while driving. Fines for violators could be as much as $100. If approved, this would be the first municipality in Broward County to take such measures for driver safety. A second and final vote will be taken on September 23rd.

A ban on texting while driving is not new. Seventeen states including Maryland, New Jersey and California already have such bans; in California the fine is $20 for the first offense.

A recent survey from Nationwide Insurance shows that nearly 80% of U.S. adults support laws banning text messaging while driving,

The survey of 1,008 Americans, found most were in favor of a texting ban. Surprisingly, this was rated high among young drivers born between 1977 and 1988. 

According to Nationwide associate vice president, Bill Windsor, in a recent WSJ article,

Generation Y’s support for driving-while-texting bans — a hot-button topic that has gotten considerable attention in recent weeks — was unexpectedly strong.

Another discrepancy in the texting debate is the contrast of views among drivers from the Northeast and West compared to drivers from the Midwest and the South.

93% of Northeasterners say yes to texting bans, compared with 72% of Southerners — something Mr. Windsors attributes to more congested traffic conditions on the East and West coasts. Drivers in the Northeast and South, however, were the most likely to say they often see other drivers on the phone.

Our message is that safety comes first. The texting while driving debate is going to heat up in Florida.  We look forward to sharing helpful information to readers that will keep our roadways safe. Let us know what you think of the texting while driving ban. We are interested in hearing from our readers on this important topic.

Read the following to lean more on the Texting while driving ban in Parkland and the Nationwide Insurance Survey on Texting while Driving.

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New Jersey drivers will be fined $100 if they are caught using a hand held devices to talk or to send text messages while driving. Starting Saturday, March 1, 2008, the new law went into effect. Police will be issuing fines for $100 if they catch drivers in the act of texting or not using a hand held device while driving.

New Jersey is among four other states, New York, California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., to have such laws. According to a survey done by Nationwide Insurance, 73 percent of drivers use cell phones and 20 percent text while driving. The New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed the legislation giving police more authority to target drivers using hand-held cell phones, and making it illegal to send text messages while driving - distractions legislators contend make for risky driving. The law however, allows drivers to use hands free devices to talk on the phone.

Do Hands Free devices make the roads safer? According to reports from the transportation officials, nearly half of the 3,580 phone-related crashes in New Jersey involved a hands-free device, Five of 11 fatal accidents involving a cell phone that year also involved a hands-free device. This data was from 2006. Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said those figures are consistent with recent research showing no difference in crash risk between hand-held and hands-free cell phones.

Although, Florida has not joined the pack in banning texting and cell phone use without a hands free device, We urge you to use caution and common sense.  If you are driving, pay attention to the road and do not text and drive.  If you must send a text, pull over, stop driving and send your text message. After you are finished, compose yourself and proceed with caution to get back on the highway if you have pulled over.  If you do not have one, go out and purchase a hands free device for your cell phone. However, as the statistics above show, driving while not concentrating can cause accidents even with a hands free device.  Always exercise caution while driving and talking.  Your primary focus should be operating your vehicle safely and paying attention to what is happening on the roadway, not your phone conversation, which can be a distraction.

Click here to read more on texting and cell phone use bans from 6ABC.com, AP and the Gainesville Sun

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Texting while driving is becoming trendy and dangerous.  It is not uncommon to see someone text while driving these days, especially teens. Let's not forget the Blackberry Crowd. They are equally dangerous to drivers on the road.  One New Hampshire Lawmaker  is doing something about it, Nashua's David Campbell has filed the paperwork for a bill to ban two-handed texting or typing on any electronic or telecommunications device while driving. According to Campbell in a recent Associated Press article,  "You need at least one hand to operate a motor vehicle,'' a police officer told him cell phone texting isn't the only problem. Some drivers are typing on laptop computers while behind the wheel." He seeks only to ban two-handed typing or texting.

In a recent accident involving a 17-year old, text messages were sent to and from the teen driver before the deadly crash involving a tractor trailer crash.  This is any parents nightmare. Their teen dying at the wheel, while on the phone.  Adults are not immune to texting while driving. According to Lynch Ryan  Worker's Comp Insider Blog,"You can make a case that a vehicle can be operated safely while the driver talks on a cell phone - preferably with a head piece - but no case can be made for safe driving while the operator's eyes are actually focused on the mobile device. Texting, like alcohol, does not go with driving."  I agree wholeheartedly.  The cell phone providers should do more to bring awareness to the dangers of texting while driving. According to a recent study by AAA on teen texting while driving habits, nearly 46% of teens, text while driving.  

Blogger, Anne Donnegan, hit it nail on the head, when she said, more people may have to die in DWT accidents, before legislators eventually see the light and pass a bill banning DWT.

Thankfully, lawmakers around the country are introducing legislation to curb this dangerous behavior. A few brave champions, such as Washington State, Phoenix and New Hampshire are writing legislation on Driving while texting.

What are your thoughts on texting while driving?  Should it be illegal?  What is better a fine or points on a license? The answer remains with concerned citizens. Do you want your loved one killed or injured by a driver that is texting?  If not, find out if your local city or state has a ban on DWT - Driving While Texting. If not, contact your local lawmaker and suggest this legislation. Share what other cities are doing such as: Washington,  Phoenix, and New Hampshire. Make a difference and let your voice be heard in the fight to end DWT accidents.

Click here to read more from the Insurance Journal

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