Dangerous Distractions
Almost every day for the past few weeks I have been reading or hearing about the dangers of using cell phones for conversations or texting in all sorts of situations, some I’d not even thought of. Virginia personal injury attorneys like me know distracted drivers cause serious car and truck accidents. I’ve written blog posts on this issue before. Any distraction that causes you to take your eyes off the road, for even a second or two, may end up causing a tragic accident.
I have a case like this in my office now. A truck driver traveling on a local interstate at night took his eyes off the road to adjust his radio. When he looked up, there was nothing he could do to avoid rear-ending my client’s truck which was traveling directly in front of him. As a result of the accident, my client sustained a permanent, catastrophic injury.
A few days ago, I read that even walking and using a cell phone is risky. Some people get so caught up in telephone conversations they are oblivious to danger. They may walk into a truck, stumble on a hole in the sidewalk, or hit a pole. One morning I heard on the radio that one of four auto accidents is caused by a driver using a cell phone, Later the same day, I read two articles in different newspapers reporting on an investigation into a 2008 Los Angeles commuter train wreck that killed 25 people.
Apparently, the commuter train’s engineer ran a red signal before he slammed into an oncoming freight train. An investigation revealed the engineer had sent or received as many as 43 text messages on the day of the crash, one just 22 seconds before the collision. Obviously, he was distracted from his primary responsibility, to keep his passengers safe.
Congress took steps to prevent this type of tragedy when it recently passed a law mandating “positive train control.” This system, when installed, will sense a train if and when it approaches a red signal at high speed. It will automatically slow down the train or stop it if the engineer disobeys the signal. Unfortunately, this law will not go into effect until 2015.
Yet another article, this one in a Richmond, Virginia newspaper, gave details of a motor vehicle accident in which a woman struck the rear of a fire truck in broad daylight. The fire truck was parked in the right lane with its emergency lights activated because it was responding to a vehicle fire. One firefighter, who had been standing beside the fire truck, was injured. Allegedly, the driver indicated to the investigating police officer that she was distracted by a ringing cell phone.
The Neilson Company reports that text messages outnumber mobile voice calls by three to one. This change in mode of communication may have far reaching consequences. Cell phone use while driving is distracting and dangerous; however, studies show texting is even more dangerous.
It’s easy to see why. When you are reading and writing text messages your eyes are focused almost exclusively on your cell phone, not on the road. It takes longer to read or write a text message than it does to dial a phone number. While you’re talking on your cell phone, your brain may be focused on your conversation, but at least you are likely to be looking up at the road and surrounding traffic. Not so when you’re texting.
Labels: Motor Vehicle Accidents