They record the incident in a crash report, and the insurance company will assess this document when determining compensation. Some even recommend the best therapists should you need one to recover from the mental trauma. Exceptions.Exceptions to the law are provided under specified circumstances. US Breaking News Headlines – Online Feed – Today, Now Current. School bus drivers: 18 states and Washington D.C. prohibit school bus drivers from driving and any use of a cell phone. It includes: Daydreaming is also another common cause of distracted driving. What Happens If You Hit Someone While Texting And Driving In Fort Collins? If they deny your allegations, the witnesses can confirm them and help pin liability on the driver. Most common type of distracted driving. (Text Request), On average, each American sends and receives 33,834 text messages per year. DO get out of your car and check for injuries. Here, you don’t literally take your hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. In Colorado, a driver can hold their cell phone in their hand for phone calls. Secondly, in any lawsuits stemming from an accident, evidence of texting while driving may prove negligence or recklessness, which often determines the outcome of an auto injury lawsuit. Make a petition to obtain cell phone records coinciding with the time of the accident. Even if you don’t think you need to see your doctor quickly after the accident, it’s still important to get checked out. Grooming (e.g., brushing your hair, applying makeup, etc. The short answer is that a conviction or guilty plea for texting while driving may be admissible as proof of liability in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit. You should contact a criminal defense lawyer if you are involved in a charge of texting while driving. Texting while driving is illegal for all drivers in the U.S, except in Missouri where the ban only applies to drivers below 21 years and Montana where the ban is still not in effect. Even if you put the phone down after texting while driving, that text may still be evidence that you had been driving in a distracted state, which too often has life ending consequences. If you’re in the right physical state, give your statement of account at the scene. The Angell Law Firm is located in Atlanta and serves the Rome, Augusta, Athens, Macon, Columbus, Savannah areas. This is where you mention that the liable driver was texting while driving. In Pennsylvania, if you’ve been in a car accident and the other person was texting while driving, the driver could face fines, court costs, and possible jail time. Don’t forget to make this revelation to the police. You’re lucky if you leave the scene with all your bones intact. 2 And drivers aged 16 to 24 are most likely to use a handheld device while driving. Learn more. (, Americans send roughly 182,233,333,333 (182.2 billion) text messages every week. Texting and Driving is probably also the No. But a lawyer knows they should send a preservation letter asking that the carrier preserves the phone records for the case. When someone is texting and driving, they are using all of the 3 above components: Texting and driving involve taking your eyes of the road, taking your hand or hands off of the steering wheel and taking your mind or brain away from the performance of driving. Dangers of Texting While Driving. Nowadays, everyone has a cell phone and most everyone sends text messages while driving. Distracted driving violations are primary offenses. Would it surprise you to learn that nearly 30 percent of all car accidents in Texas involve someone either on the phone or texting while driving? As unbelievable as it sounds, the truth is that texting while driving increases your chances of being in an accident by about 2,300 percent! Texting while driving puts other people in danger. Transition: Not only does texting while driving endanger the driver and the passenger, it also risks the lives of other on the road. I think a lot of people in Colorado are not aware of the total ban on text messaging. After a driver reads this, how likely is he or she to have all mental faculties while driving? When the texting driver’s negligence results in a car accident, they are liable for the accident victims’ damages. Now that we know about all these alarming statistics and how you can compare texting and driving to drunk driving, we can now analyze what happens if you hit someone while texting and driving. After the accident, you may not be in the right physical or mental state to do this. All this would be easier with an attorney. Texting while driving is a strong indicator of negligence. If the guilty party denies liability, you also need witnesses to corroborate your statement and show that you weren’t the distracted pedestrian. If you were injured in such an accident , contact a texting … The penalties for texting while driving could include any of the following:. (Statistic Brain), 301,312 texts are sent every second in the United States. Know What to Do in a Texting and Driving Accident. In Minnesota, for example, drivers caught texting face a $50 fine and $225 for subsequent offenses. Because texting and driving creates a significant risk of accident, even a driver who is hit by a speeder or someone running a red light, can be held partially responsible if texting … 77% of those teens also claim to have seen their parent texting while on the road (Price 1).” That is not good! Again, the topic of what happens if you hit someone while texting and driving will be explained below. What is happening when a driver is sending a text message? Your life could end because someone made an unwise decision. Police presence is incredibly crucial in an accident scene. Just quickly staying in touch with friends and family for a few seconds while driving can’t be as bad as drinking, right? Brain component: taking your mind off of driving. What should you do if you get hit by a distracted driver? Of course, “distracted driving” can be looking at a business as you drive by, eating, putting on makeup, looking at another driver, using the technology in your car like the radio, navigation, and other controls. You need proof that the driver was indeed texting, and this can only be obtained through acquiring their phone records. Most of these “weavers” are texting and driving (sending text messages or reading text messages or any of a number of things drivers may do on their cell phones). In 2018, around 400,000 people were injured in accidents caused by distracted driving. Thus, you need all the support you can get during this time. Your email address will not be published. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). We just bought a new vehicle not too long ago. If you’re involved in a wreck and the other party admits to texting and driving, they are essentially admitting fault. The short answer is that a conviction or guilty plea for texting while driving may be admissible as proof of liability in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit. A driver could run through a red light in those typical 5 seconds. If you can do so safely, put your emergency blinkers on and investigate the accident. The penalties for killing someone while driving drunk are quite severe. Especially, if you have caused an accident while texting and driving, and someone has died or is seriously injured because of you. Collisions can happen in as little as three seconds. The grounds on which you can sue someone for causing a car accident while texting aren’t definite. This means that if you are hit by a driver who is texting while driving, and are injured, you may be able to use that driver's guilty plea to help you in a lawsuit. You also need help following up the case and sitting in settlement meetings. If an adult is found to be texting and driving for the first time, then that adult driver will receive 4 points on his or her driver’s license and a $300 fine. A personal injury lawyer can help you recover any money you lost because of the drivers negligence. DO give the pedestrian aid. The attorney will work with the police to get contacts of witnesses and their statement. If the insurance approves the claim, you receive compensation for damages. These are quite strict penalties so drivers should really analyze if it is worth going to jail for texting and driving. Distracted driving can cost lives and could cost you your freedom, just like what happened to Kuehl in 2008. His conviction is … On the other hand, if you or someone you know has been charged with causing an accident while text messaging, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney. If you are hit by someone who is texting and driving, you need to seek medical attention as quickly as possible. Learn More{{/message}}. Texting and driving are a terrible combination and can lead to injuries, car crashes, and even death. They will not only handle every aspect of the case but will also take it to trial if the driver or their insurer fails to pay up for the damages. Med Pay Benefits In Colorado. Check the pedestrian for injuries. Instead, your mind wanders elsewhere, so you get lost in thought and become inattentive. Even, if this means that they will have their eyes on the road. What should you do if you’re hit by someone who was texting and driving? Showing that someone was sending text messages while driving, even if they are not formally charged criminally, can go to proving that the driver was acting in a wantonly reckless manner. The Michigan texting and driving law was enacted to stop people from texting while driving. You’ll have the same odds of crashing as if you just drank four large beers. We have all seen cars weaving while going down a straight road. The totality of what's going on while someone is behind the wheel determines whether or not they were negligent, or grossly negligent in an accident. Distracted driving can lead to various injuries, such as: If you become the victim of a distracted driver, stay calm and do your best to follow these steps: Allen Accident Law has years of experience representing texting-while-driving victims and getting them the personal injury compensation they deserve. So what happens if you hit someone while texting and driving? These include the following: Going head-to-head with the insurance company is not a good idea. If you have been injured in a car accident and have reason to suspect the other driver was texting while driving, call the personal injury attorneys in Atlanta at Angell Law Firm today at (770) 217-4954 to discuss your legal options. After all, when you’re texting, you’re sober. Should I Get A Lawyer For A Bicycle Accident In Fort Collins? Texting & Driving Is Illegal . Text messaging: 48 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit text messaging for all drivers. Required fields are marked *, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. Of course, texting and driving is the most common type of “distracted driving” and is the topic of what happens if you hit someone while texting and driving. But how do you go about such a case if you’re the victim? It should not be commonplace to hear that a pedestrian, like a child, or a bicyclist were hit and killed due to a person who was texting while driving. If you’ve been badly injured and can’t give your statement at the scene, ensure you do so after seeking medical assistance. You could get into an at fault accident, lose control of your vehicle and cause serious injury … A personal injury case, especially one where the defendant is a driver who was texting while driving, can be difficult to navigate. You will still get a $300 fine for your first offense. Recent statistics indicate that at least nine people are killed and more than 1000 others injured in car crashes that involve a distracted driver. (Statistic Brain), 18,078,704 texts are sent every minute in the United States. If you can do so safely, put your emergency blinkers on and investigate the accident. (Jun. We all know how long a football field is. It is a crime to leave the scene of an accident where there is an injury. Hire an auto accident attorney for your case. One of the most common distractions today is texting while driving. Let’s say you receive a text message that your father just died. 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