Arizona Accident Information Law Blog : Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Solomon & Relihan Law Firm : Auto Accidents & Car Wrecks : AZ Accident Information Law Blog

The owner of a non-profit organization against drinking by minors argued that teenagers today do not have any sense of the potential dangers of not only drinking while or before driving but also texting while driving. She said they do not realize that bad things can not only happen to others but to them as well. However, there are even older people who have not come to that realization until it is too late. Under state law in Maine, texting while driving has officially been banned in the state and carries a penalty of a $100 fine. Many teenagers admit that even though they are fully aware of the ban, they still continue to text while driving anyway because they admittedly do not realize the dangers. Still, many teenagers have the right idea and either ignore their phones or turn them off while driving to avoid potentially serious accidents such as this incident.

Driving while intoxicated is another matter entirely and there are much more severe things that could happen to people involved in these types of accidents. Driving while intoxicated can easily lower your awareness while on the road and can drastically diminish your judgment, making you far more susceptible to an automobile accident than the average person who hasn’t been drinking. Couple this with driving while texting and the danger can increase ten-fold. Nobody should ever deliberately put themselves in this type of situation and wind up in a serious auto accident or worse, harm another driver or pedestrian on the road. Anybody who has been injured in this type of accident at the hands of a driver who was either texting or driving while intoxicated should contact an attorney as soon as possible to find out how they can help you get compensation for their pain and suffering.
 

The report highlights the need for more studies specifically targeted to the problem to determine how big the problem is as well as how to deal with the issue effectively. The study also incorporates commercial drivers and business employees who constantly use cell phones for communication stating that there should be programs and policies established to prevent accidents from occurring for those drivers.

Driver distraction has been a major concern for many years. In recent years the development of smartphones has made it so that people can not only send text messages to other cell phone users but they can also surf the internet and play games on their phones. With cell phones becoming more and more sophisticated, they are becoming more and more like compact computers; smaller than a standard laptop but capable of the same functionality. This sophistication could become a huge distraction for drivers especially teenagers who constantly use their cell phones for social networking purposes (texting, and social networking websites). Many drivers think using a hands-free system for cell phones will reduce their chance of being in an accident. However, simply keeping both hands on the wheel is not enough to keep a driver from being distracted while driving.

Incorporating and enforcing laws to prevent drivers from using their cell phones altogether could dramatically reduce the number of accidents that occur resulting from driver distraction. By developing more studies targeted toward cell phone laws as well as the activity of cell phone use while driving, organizations like the GHSA and NHTSA can help lawmakers make it harder for driver distraction related to cell phones to be a factor in an accident. Although many people find smartphones convenient, they can pose a very real danger for drivers and cell phone laws should be in place to prevent serious accidents.