Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP
New York is cracking down on texting and driving. The police are now on alert for people driving while texting and using electronic devices. And for good reason, because:
• Engaging in texting while driving increases the risk of getting into a crash by three times.
• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.
• Twenty-five percent of teens respond to a text message at least once while driving. Twenty percent of teens admit that they engage in extended, multi-message texting while driving.
• In 2010, eighteen percent of all fatal crashes were caused by driver distraction, resulting in 3,092 deaths and 416,000 injuries.
• Forty percent of American teens admit having been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger.
• Texting creates a crash risk twenty-three times worse than non-texting driving.
• Eleven percent of drivers aged 18-20 who were involved in a car crash and survived admitted they were texting when they crashed.
• While texting and driving, teenagers spend about ten percent of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in.
• Nearly fifty percent of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 text while driving.
• Over one-third of all young drivers and under 24 are texting while on the road.
• Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.
No one is invincible
The propensity of teens feeling compelled to stay in constant contact with friends via texting is unfortunately a symptom of our high-tech world. And with youth comes a sense of invincibility. However, what teens do not realize is that texting while driving can make things go from normal to driving head-on into a truck or off a bridge. Often taking innocent victims with them. The simple action of looking down to type LOL (laugh out loud) can have the devastating effect of changing lives forever.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in New York because of a texting driver, contact Rosenberg & Gluck for a free consultation. We discuss the details of your accident and determine if you have a case.
