Texting and driving is an extremely dangerous behavior that has caused many individuals in our country to face both physical and financial hardships. Engaging in this reckless driving behavior puts lives at risk.
Distracted driving is any activity that takes a driver's attention away from the road. Examples include texting, talking on the phone, conversing with other passengers, eating, drinking, adjusting entertainment or navigation systems, and changing the radio station.
Texting while driving is particularly alarming because it diverts your focus entirely. It takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind away from the task of driving. This creates a hazardous situation that often leads to accidents with serious consequences for you and others on the road.
If you have been involved in a car accident caused by a distracted driver using their phone, it's important to know that you have the right to seek compensation for your losses. Contacting a distracted driver accident lawyer from The Ward Law Group is wise. Acting swiftly allows them to guide you through the process and build a strong case to bring justice to you and your family.
How is Dangerous Texting and Driving?
Texting and driving pose countless dangers. Depending on the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, drivers who text simultaneously can cause accidents ranging from minor to catastrophic, resulting in loss of life for themselves and others involved.
When drivers choose to use their phones while operating a motor vehicle, they fail in the following aspects:
Visual
Maintaining a constant focus on the road is vital for a driver when operating a motor vehicle. No excuses exist for diverting their attention because anything could occur before their eyes. By staying alert, they increase their chances of executing an evasive maneuver that could save their lives.
When answering a text message, swerving your sight to your phone screen is obligatory, which is a hazard because your sight should always be in front.
Cognitive
Cognitive distractions encompass mental activities that cause a driver's attention and focus to veer away from the act of driving. One such example is when you find yourself behind the wheel and suddenly begin contemplating other individuals, unfinished office tasks, or the chaos created by your dog in the living room.
While your eyes may remain fixed on the road, your mind becomes preoccupied elsewhere, which can hinder the driver's capacity to effectively process information, make sound decisions, and promptly respond to potential hazards on the road.
The cognitive distraction while texting is that you are paying attention to what the text says, and your mind is working on producing an answer to that text. In those crucial moments, your car can be in front of stopped traffic, a sudden object that appeared, or a pedestrian trying to cross the street.
Manual
In addition to looking and paying attention to the road, handling the vehicle involves placing your hands on the steering wheel correctly. It's best to use both hands and put them at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock or slightly higher at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock.
This hand placement gives you better control and maneuverability while keeping your hands in the area where the airbag can work properly. Avoid taking your hands off the wheel to reach for things, do grooming activities, smoke, or do anything else that requires you to move your hands away from the steering wheel.
Texting and Driving Accident Statistics
Many people may wonder how many accidents are caused by texting and driving. In 2020, 3,142 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. And 396 people died in accidents involving texting and driving.
Every driver must know the dangers and how negligent this behavior can be.
If you ever get involved in a texting and driving accident and, as a result, you get serious injuries, you can receive compensation to pay for all of your losses. However, you may need professional help from a car accident lawyer.
Even though you can represent yourself in a car accident claim, having a backup from an experienced lawyer is wiser. Most of the time, the at-fault party in a texting and driving accident might not admit that they were using their cell phone when the accident happened.
You may find yourself with no evidence that proves it is a lie. Fortunately, the expertise of a lawyer from The Ward Law Group will support you when facing this challenge. A lawyer can run an investigation to seek every single piece of information to build a solid case for you.
New York Texting and Driving Laws
When a United Kingdom engineer sent the first text message using the telephone networks, nobody could imagine how revolutionary and massive that change would be. Texting a message in a matter of seconds to people very far from them was great and convenient.
Some years later, human society will find out those messages endangered many people on the streets when they started using their cell phones to send messages while driving. That is a worldwide issue because cell phones have become an important tool for us to work, learn, communicate, and entertain with one single device.
In New York State, they took those facts and created a law to protect their citizens from distracted drivers. In 2001, New York became the first state in the nation to ban hand-held cell phone use while driving.
In 2009, additional laws were introduced to forbid texting while driving. The prohibition outlined in the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law also encompasses using portable electronic devices while operating a vehicle.
Through the years and checking the statistics, new forms of restrictions were needed in a desperate way to mitigate deaths caused by this distraction type.
In 2017, Governor Cuomo implemented Operation Hang Up, a comprehensive initiative to address distracted driving nationwide. This initiative involved intensifying patrols and checkpoints to enforce traffic laws.
As a result, over 16,000 tickets were issued, with more than 2,000 specifically related to distracted driving.
What is the Fine for Texting and Driving?
Before Operation Hang Up started, there were some penalties for drivers who were caught using their cell phones and got their driver’s license suspended for 120 days. That suspension could go up to 1 year if they made the same mistake within six months, and they might face serious consequences, too.
With those measures, the New York State texting and driving laws weren’t enough because then, in November 2014, there were fines that people must pay.
| Violation | Minimum | Maximum |
| First offense | $50 | $200 |
| Second offense within 18 months | $50 | $250 |
| A third or subsequent offense within 18 months | $50 | $450 |
Statute Of Limitation For Texting and Driving Accidents
The Ward Law Group lawyers are always concerned and encouraging people who have been injured in car accidents because there is a time limit on when they have to take action if they want to seek compensation.
Some people get their money from the insurance company. They are fine paying the rest of the expenses out of their pocket, and that happens because either they don’t fully understand all their rights or they are afraid to incur more expenses without winning any extra money.
In New York State, the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is generally three years from the date of the incident. If the accident caused the death of a person, their family or personal representative has up to 2 years to file a lawsuit.
Sometimes, people get informed too late, and when they come to us for help, we find out that the accident happened beyond the deadline, and unfortunately, there are not too many things to do.
New York Texting and Driving Car Accident Lawyer
We understand how frustrating it can be to experience pain and a heavy financial burden because of the negligent behavior of another person who could easily have prevented the accident from happening.
At The Ward Law Group, our respected lawyers with over 10 years of experience will support you, investigate to obtain all the pertinent evidence and build the strongest case possible to win you the compensation you deserve.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident where texting was a factor in the crash and you got injured as a result. Contact a car accident lawyer at 855-DOLOR-55, and one of our lawyers will answer any questions. Don’t hesitate to call; we are here to help.