Distracted driving is a common practice in America. Our lives revolve around remaining in contact with the world around us. Our attention spans are growing shorter, and our needs are changing based on what we allow to occupy our minds. Despite the shifting needs of our society, the rules of the road have remained the same.
Distracted driving is when a person who is driving engages in another activity, such as eating a sushi roll or flipping through songs on their iPhone, while driving. Texting while driving has become the most prominent form of distracted driving, so much so that organizations have created commercials dedicated to teaching their audience about the dangers of texting while driving. These commercials feature families who have lost a loved one because of another driver who was concerned more with what was on their phone than who was on the road.
California State Senator, Joe Simitian, foresaw the dangers of texting while driving throughout his time as a Senator, and preemptively sought to create legislation that would require a hands-free device while driving. Eventually, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the SB 33 on September 2006, codifying the hands-free cell phone bill into law.[i]
Laws against texting and driving in California have gone through many stages of legislation since the first bill was signed. Distracted driving laws related to cell phones have ruled our roadways for over ten years, yet, we are still seeing collisions caused by the same distractions that our past state senators were proactively trying to prevent.
Attorney Brett Geruntino stated that “the persistence of collisions caused by distracted driving is due to people think[ing] ‘I’m a good driver and it only takes a second.’ The problem is you can’t control the conditions around you. A car could stop in front of you, a truck could swerve into your lane, or worse, a child could dart out into the street. Whether or not it’s your fault, that ‘second’ could change your life.”
According to California Office of Traffic Safety, eighty percent of vehicle collisions involve some sort of driver inattention[ii]. Driving is a privilege. It is fun, and it is an easy way to transport yourself from one destination to another, but it is also dangerous and requires your full attention.
If you were a victim of another person’s distracted driving, contact a personal injury attorney La Mesa. We will help you receive treatment and address any questions you may have. Please call (858) 560-0781 or go to www.acclaimlaw.com to set up a free consultation.
Disclaimer: While we always seek to establish accuracy when publishing articles, this piece is not intended to provide legal advice, and should not be used as such. Each individual case will differ and should be discussed with an attorney or legal expert. If you would like to inquire about pursuing a claim, please contact us at (858) 252-0781 or email brett@acclaimlaw.com
[i] Editor. (2008, July 1). Hands Free Info. Retrieved from handsfreeinfo.com: http://handsfreeinfo.com/california-cell-phone-laws-legislation/
[ii] California Office of Traffic Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.ots.ca.gov: http://test-www.ots.ca.gov/Media_and_Research/Campaigns/Distracted_Driving.asp