Distracted Driving Awareness Month Addresses Car Accident Risk

Did you know that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month? Whether a California motorist is engaging with their cell phone, changing the radio station, disciplining their children, or even applying makeup, they could be liable for car accidents because of their distracted driving. Do not be a negligent driver – instead, join the national movement to stop texting and driving.

Many people think that distracted driving simply is not that big of a deal. Texting and driving causes “significant lane deviations,” though, according to researchers who have spent time testing driver capacity behind the wheel. When you are distracted because of your technological devices, you can be a major danger to others on the road.

The cognitive deficit that comes along with texting and driving is all due to simple biology within the brain. When drivers are using their hand-eye coordination to text instead of drive, they are compromising their ability to control their arm muscles. This leads to physically “shaky” driving, which causes drivers to drift from lane to lane. Those effects occur in addition to the simple inattention to driving that comes along with texting and driving. What is the impact of the texting and driving phenomenon? More than 40,000 people now die each year in a car accident, with many fatalities attributable to this form of distracted driving.

A car accident victim who has been injured because of a distracted, negligent driver may have legal recourse to obtain compensation for medical expenses and other costs. These victims deserve financial recompense for their pain and suffering and other legal claims. This April, take special care to learn more about the reasons for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Source: WTOP, “Another reason why texting and driving never mix,” April 02, 2017