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Cell phone usage and texting while driving - Distracted driving is a major cause of serious and fatal motor-vehicle crashes each year

In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver.  One of the most alarming and widespread forms of distracted driving is cell phone usage.  According to a Carnegie Mellon study(link is external), driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.  And a report from the National Safety Council(link is external) found that people talking on cell phones or sending text messages cause more than one out of every four traffic accidents.   Text messaging is of heightened concern because it combines three types of distraction – visual, manual and cognitive.  In other words, texting involves taking your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off the task of driving - the ultimate form of distracted driving.

Is a distracted driver who was talking or texting on a cell phone always at fault in a collision?

Since every crash and every case is unique, and since the laws differ from state to state, anyone who has been injured in a crash with a driver who was using a cell phone should consult with a personal injury attorney who will explore the facts of the collision, collect all related documentation, and oversee an insurance claim to ensure that an injured person's rights are protected.
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Everett-Bellingham WA
Inattention blindness: what makes distracted driving so dangerous [VIDEO](link is external)

Inattention blindness: what makes distracted driving so dangerous [VIDEO](link is external)

Everyone by now should know that driving while distracted is one of the most dangerous things you can do behind the wheel. But lots of people also think that multi-tasking is possible, and while other drivers might not be able to do two things at once, there are ways to juggle tasks safely. More and more research says this is not so. If you're trying to have a conversation on the phone, whether you are listening or speaking, your mind is engaged in cognitive tasks. Even if you aren't holding your phone - a manual task - your mind is focused on this primary task of your conversation. Which means that if you are trying to talk about your dinner plans while you're driving, your mind is focused on trying to choose between pizza and Chinese, not what's in front of your windshield. 

Here is a great video that explains why distracted driving occurs(link is external). 

Everett-Bellingham WA
Distractions aren't limited to driving a car(link is external)

Distractions aren't limited to driving a car(link is external)

In our fast-paced world, distractions are rampant. Technological innovation has given us so many options vying for our attention, which is a very lucrative business. Smart phones are everywhere, and contain a tiny universe of information packaged in colors, sounds and vibrations, providing endless interface as soon as we dip our attention down into the screen's stream. There are headphones with great sound quality that bring us into our own world right in the midst of the one we share with other people. More and more people are apparently learning how to cope with being addicted to electronic devices. While distracted driving gets a lot of press because the statistics so obviously show the danger, here are a few recent studies and facts that show how being distracted impacts us(link is external) in many ways. 

Everett-Bellingham WA
Distractions aren't limited to driving a car(link is external)

Distractions aren't limited to driving a car(link is external)

In our fast-paced world, distractions are rampant. Technological innovation has given us so many options vying for our attention, which is a very lucrative business. Smart phones are everywhere, and contain a tiny universe of information packaged in colors, sounds and vibrations, providing endless interface as soon as we dip our attention down into the screen's stream. There are headphones with great sound quality that bring us into our own world right in the midst of the one we share with other people. More and more people are apparently learning how to cope with being addicted to electronic devices. While distracted driving gets a lot of press because the statistics so obviously show the danger, here are a few recent studies and facts that show how being distracted impacts us(link is external) in many ways. 

Everett-Bellingham WA
The impossible texting and driving test(link is external)

The impossible texting and driving test(link is external)

I'd like to share this video that tells a compelling story about how it's impossible to text and drive at the same time.

"Plenty of people will crash, I'm telling you," says one student as he begins the test. He's right. Current statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's site on distracted drivingshow that each day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.  Every day. 

Click here to see the video showing how impossible it is to safely text and drive at the same time(link is external).

Everett-Bellingham WA
So you can multi-task? Your brain doesn't think so(link is external)

So you can multi-task? Your brain doesn't think so(link is external)

A lot of myths surround the idea of multi-tasking. According to the online etymology dictionary, the term itself came about for the first time in 1966, and only had to do with computing. It wasn't until as recent as 1998 that the term was traced to usage in human thinking. Current research highlighted by the National Safety Council shows the idea of doing two thinking tasks at one time, as the term has popularly come to mean, is a myth. Curious to learn more about distracted driving? Click here.(link is external)

Corpus Christi, TX
Will Corpus Christi Distracted Driver Law Reduce Car Accidents?(link is external)

Will Corpus Christi Distracted Driver Law Reduce Car Accidents?(link is external)

In Corpus Christi, a city law passed that imposes a $500 fine if the police spot a driver using a cell phone. For years, car accident attorneys in Corpus Christi and across the country have been seeing more cases involving driver distraction. In our previous blog posts, we have discussed how prevalent the problem has become. In this day and age, everyone is tied to their smartphones. Car manufacturers are adding more options to incorporate hands-free operation of a phone. But will/would this law reduce auto accidents?