Distracted Driving Awareness

Unfortunately, even those who consider themselves to be safe and conscientious drivers could end up involved in a collision because of another person’s distracted driving. The injuries sustained in these collisions tend to be severe and injured parties are often forced to look beyond their own insurance policies to recover compensation for their medical bills and lost wages. To learn more about filing a claim after a collision caused by distracted driving, please call one of our dedicated Maitland distracted driving accident lawyers today.

Common Distracted Driving Behaviors

While it is true that texting and driving is one of the most dangerous distracted driving activities that a person can engage in, it is far from being the only one. The reality is that any activity that takes a driver’s eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or mind off of driving can qualify as distracting. Distracting behaviors that could put a driver at risk of causing a collision, include:

• Talking on a cell phone;
• Eating and drinking;
• Changing the radio or adjusting the GPS;
• Tending to children and pets;
• Talking to passengers;
• Daydreaming;
• Paying attention to things outside of the care, like other accidents;
• Smoking; and
• Grooming.

Each of these distractions falls under one (or more) of three different categories:

• Visual distractions, which take a driver’s eyes off the road;
• Manual distractions, which take a driver’s hands off the steering wheel; and
• Cognitive distractions, which take a driver’s mind off of the act of driving.

Activities, like texting or using a cell phone, that fall under more than one category are especially dangerous.

How Distracted Driving Could Affect Your Recovery

Although Florida is a no-fault auto liability state, it is possible for accident victims to seek compensation from negligent drivers when their injuries are serious. In these cases, the injured party will need to provide proof of how the other driver’s negligence caused a crash. When the cause of an accident was distracted driving, this could require the victim to obtain a copy of the police report, secure footage from surveillance recordings, and even seek copies of the other driver’s phone records, all of which could help establish that distracted driving caused an accident. Even evidence from the scene of an accident, such as skid marks, can be used to prove that a driver failed to hit the brakes in a timely manner, which is a good indication of distracted driving. Eyewitnesses who saw the accident could also be able to testify as to what the at-fault driver was doing prior to the accident.

Contact a Distracted Driving Lawyer in Florida

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a distracted driving-related crash, we are here to help. Contact the skilled Maitland distracted driving legal team at Goldman Law, P.A. to discuss the details of your case by calling 407-960-1900 or by filling out one of our online contact forms.

Resource:

nhtsa.gov/es/distracted-driving/april-distracted-driving-awareness-month