It’s pretty self-evident that texting on your cell phone and driving don’t mix; well, neither do texting and walking around high traffic areas. Unfortunately, accidents where cell phone texters walk out in front of traffic are on the rise.
You would think this would be a no-brainer: walking with your head down while fiddling on your phone to send a message and not paying attention to the traffic. Traffic does not stop on a dime and when someone appears in the middle of the street out of nowhere, the consequences are not pretty.
Just recently on the police blotter of a city in America, the first officially recorded text messaging pedestrian death made the news. Actually it likely wasn’t the first death, but it may have been the first one the police could prove was the result of someone not paying attention to what they were doing and walked out in front of a car.
Up until now most of the stories we read about deal with horrendous accidents as a result of drivers texting while driving. It’s hard to really fathom what could be “that” important that a driver feels they have to text a message while piloting a deadly weapon. Drivers never used to have cell phones to talk or text and the accident statistics were a lot lower than they are now.
Other text messaging accidents that have made the news involved a commuter train accident. You guessed it; the conductor ran a red light that told him to stop to allow a freight train to pass because he was texting. Ten people lost their lives because he was not paying attention to his job.
In some states it is now against the law to talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time. Other states, and this tends to vary from state to state, also have laws that ban texting while driving. Other states also consider cell phone use and driving at the same time as primary enforcement, meaning that police may ticket a driver doing this without any other traffic offense taking place.
Since many also collect crash statistics, it will be interesting to monitor the developments in this area of traffic enforcement over the next few years. It’s a given that this problem will get worse before it gets better. It will get worse because cell phones are now coming equipped with more bells and whistles that act as distractions. Personal injury lawyers across the nation are aware that they will likely be dealing with cases of pedestrians who were texting and hit by cars.
While cases such as this will have their own particular set of difficulties, always make it a point, when involved in any kind of car meets pedestrian accident, to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. They will be able to assess the case and advise how to proceed to justice.
Jeremiah Denslow is a Dayton Divorce Lawyer in Dayton Ohio with Denslow Law Firm. The firm specializes in family law. Jeremiah also practices Dayton criminal defense. To learn more about Dayton divorce lawyer, Dayton dui lawyer, Dayton defense lawyer, Dayton divorce attorney, Dayton dui attorney, Dayton defense attorney, Dayton attorney, Dayton lawyer, Dayton ohio, visit Denslowlaw.com.
