Missouri Car Accident Liability Proven with Cell Phone Usage
If you are involved in a Missouri car accident and cell phone use is proven, the issue will be used as a factor in the car crash. Cell phone use can impair driving ability and even having a phone in your car can be a distraction that can be used as proof of negligence.
For instance, if your phone is ringing, but the phone is not in reach, you may take your eyes off of the road to find your phone, causing a Missouri car accident. Such a basic, everyday occurrence that happens in a split second can drastically change your life and the lives of others.
Several studies have recently been conducted to determine the percentage of drivers using cell phones and the percentage of car accident causes that are the result of cell phone use or distraction. Studies also incorporated states, such as New York, that ban drivers’ handheld cell phone use and note if such regulation has decreased harmful effects.
Studies found, that at some point, about 75 percent of Americans will talk on their phone while driving, and that cell phone use results in a slower reaction time for drivers. This data revealed that drivers using a handheld cell phone are comparable, in reaction time, to a drunk driver.
Slow reaction time means an increased likelihood of rear-ending another vehicle because you fail to react in time. You also have an increased likelihood of being rear-ended, as delayed timing in braking may result in a following car’s inability to stop in time as well.
The studies also found that any decrease in cell phone use, after states enacted driver/cell phone regulations, was temporary. Within a year, cell phone use practically returned to pre-law compilations of driver phone use.
Admissibility of cell phone use while driving is becoming common, according to many Missouri personal injury attorneys. Distracted drivers, either using their cell phones or perhaps trying to find their ringing phone, were shown to be an increasing element in car accident causes. Proof of cell phone use is now becoming an issue used in litigation to establish liability.
A recent car accident case was litigated after a woman suffered serious injuries because a truck struck her vehicle. The at-fault driver was working as a truck driver when the accident occurred and was also shown to be using a work cell phone when the accident happened, as proven through a cell phone bill. The fact that the truck driver was on his phone was given weight in evidence, and the truck driver was ultimately found to be negligent. His employer was actually held liable because the truck driver was in the course of employment. Although the injury lawsuit may have ended up with the same result without a showing of cell phone use, cell phone use was a factor that simply added to the equation in proving negligence.
Tips for safe driving:
- Turn your ringer off before you get in the car
- Don’t have your phone in reach while driving
- Don’t text or check e-mail
- If you must use your phone, try to quickly pull over and make the call
- If you must use your phone, try using a headset.
Driver cell phone use is one of the many contemporary issues surrounding personal injury law today. The Page Cagle Missouri Personal Injury Law Firm successfully represents clients injured in Missouri car accidents and Missouri truck accidents. Additionally, the Missouri personal injury lawyers at Page Cagle have created numerous personal injury law websites to educate the public about numerous current personal injury issues.
www.injuredclient.com and www.missouricaraccident.com are two of the St. Louis Injury Firm’s easy-to-use websites that explain many issues.
Page Cagle is located at 1232 Washington Ave., Suite 220, St. Louis, MO 63103. John can be reached by calling 314.322.8515 or toll free at 1.800.500.4658. Email john@pagecagle.com.
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