Nearly everyone has a smartphone now. We use our cell phones to communicate via text and social media. We’re trained to look at notifications the second we hear our phone vibrate or see the light blinking.
Unfortunately, we still have this impulse when we’re driving. The urge to check the notification and respond as soon as possible often leads people to make reckless driving decisions. Taking your attention and focus off the road for less than second can lead to a car accident where someone gets injured or killed.
Car accidents take a long time to recover from in every aspect. You have to heal mentally, physically, and still take care of yourself financially. Car accident injuries might leave you with hospital and prescription medication bills. Your injuries could prevent you from working. If you’re dealing with these stresses in West Virginia, the lawyers at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC are ready to help you get the compensation you need so you can focus on your recovery.
Texting and Driving: By the Numbers
When you’re driving, you need to focus on that task. People seem to think that texting and driving is a skill that they can acquire, but this isn’t true. A moment of distraction is all it takes for you to veer off the road or run into another car that you didn’t see before. Distracted driving accidents are far too common.
- About 8 people die in fatal car accidents each day because of a distracted driver.
- The National Occupant Protection Use Survey stated in 2015 that 16 to 24-year-old drivers are the highest demographic to have handhold cell phone use.
- If you are driving at 55 mph and take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds, you could drive the length of a football field in that time.
- In 2015, 3,477 people died in car accidents because of a distracted driver.
How Does Your Phone Distract You?
Your phone distracts you in more ways than one. The CDC explains how texting and driving distracts you from driving safely.
- Answering your phone will take your eyes off the road.
- Picking up your phone will leave you with one hand on the wheel, and less control of the car.
- You’re focused on reading the text or seeing what the notification was about, and you’re no longer thinking about driving.
This risky behavior also comes with other dangerous driving habits. In a study of high school students in 2019, about 39% said they have texted while driving at least once. This study showed that people who text and drive are also less likely to wear a seat belt, and are more likely drink and drive or to get in a car with a drunk driver. All these reckless driving habits can get you or someone else killed.
Do You Need a West Virginia Distracted Driving Lawyer?
If you or a loved one was injured in a distracted driving car accident, contact DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC. Our lawyers have years of experience with distracted driving cases and will help you get the justice you deserve.
When you stand up for yourself and hold the distracted driver accountable for their actions, you’re protecting your rights and showing them that their decisions had terrible consequences. This might deter them from texting and driving in the future, and you’ll help make the road safer.
Don’t wait another day. Contact us now.
