In order to avoid the wrath of a Utah text messaging accident lawyer, motorists are warned to give head to a recent study published by the University of Utah. As reported in the Christian Science Monitor, new data released by the National Safety Council shows that the number of car crashes caused by cell phone use and texting is at 1.6 million, a number that is one million more than previously thought. This report makes even more necessary, the need to grow the nationwide anti-distracted driving campaign which many states have adopted.
David Teater, director of transportation strategic initiatives at the National Safety Council said, “One out of every four car crashes in the United States is caused by cell phone distraction.” David knows first hand the horrific consequences of distracted driving: his son was killed in a crash caused by a driver on a cell phone.
Safety action group, “FocusDriven” aims to adopt many of the same tactics as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). “Just as groups like MADD changed attitudes about drunk driving, I believe FocusDriven can help raise awareness and change the way people think about distracted driving,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The National Safety Council first called for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving about a year ago. Today, only six states and Washington D.C., have banned cell phone use while driving. Nineteen of fifty states ban text messaging while behind the wheel.
Researchers at University of Utah found that the likelihood of a crash increases fourfold when someone is talking on the cell phone while driving and if a person is texting while driving the person is eight time morel likely to be in a car accident. The distraction goes far beyond visual impairment, but a driver is also cognitively disconnected when texting or talking on the cell phone. The brain is focused on a conversation, so it doesn’t compute images as quickly as someone who is solely focused on driving.
Ron Kramer is a Utah personal injury lawyer representing clients injured from those who drive while texting and has offices in Bountiful, Draper and in Provo, Utah.
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