Accident: Texting While Driving

Car Accident: Struck by someone who was texting while driving

Lots of things have changed since cell phones were invented. Today, you can book travel or order a pizza from the palm of your hand. Staying in touch with friends, children and loved ones has also become a lot easier.

Yet despite the many benefits of handheld technology, cell phones come with a number of downsides. Not only have people been seriously injured, for failing to pay attention to their surroundings while taking selfies, individuals who text while driving have been known to cause accidents.

The statistics are staggering

Data from the National Safety Council indicates that drivers that use their phones, while behind the wheel, are responsible for approximately 1.6 million motor vehicle accidents annually. Upward of 390, 000 of those accidents are attributed to people who were texting while driving, and nearly 25% of all accidents in the US are linked to cell phone usage.

Texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated, and taking your eyes off the road, to answer a text, takes about five seconds. To put that into perspective, if someone is driving at 55mph, that’s enough time for them to drive the length of a football field.

Texting while driving is prohibited by Florida law

Although some states have been slow to ban drivers from using cell phones, Florida is not one of them. Florida Statue 316.305(3)(a) clearly states:

“A person may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device or while sending or reading data on such a device for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication, including, but not limited to, communication methods known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging.”

What that means, is that anyone who is texting, emailing, checking social media or using a phone for a non-verbal reason, is in violation of the law.

What to do if you’ve been in a no-fault texting while driving accident

Each year, there are thousands of car accident and motorcycle accident victims that have been struck by distracted drivers. If you or someone you care for has been injured, it’s best to contact a Naples law firm as quickly as possible.

For more information or to learn how much your case might be worth, call The Law Offices of Marc L. Shapiro, P.A. today at 239-649-8050 to learn more.