Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

In January, an Amish man from Madison, Missouri was killed when his horse-drawn buggy was hit by a vehicle on U.S. 63 near Moberly, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The vehicle was driven by a 34 year old man from Illinois. He has been charged with second-degree voluntary manslaughter and a hearing for the man is scheduled on August 30.

Cellular telephone records show that the man who struck the buggy sent a text message to his wife only two minutes before the crash was reported. The man told investigators he was not texting at the time of the accident.

Texting while driving is dangerous. Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, distracted driving is a factor in one-quarter of crashes reported to police.

Using a cell phone while driving also has a major impact on your brain activity. According to Carnegie Mellon, driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. In addition, distraction from cell phone use results in a driver having the reaction time of someone with a blood alcohol concentration of .08, which is the level of intoxication in most states.

Have you been injured in an accident by a distracted driver? If so, contact an experienced Missouri automobile accident attorney today. You could be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, damage to your automobile, and more. Contact Page Law today at 314-322-8515 for a free consultation.

Earlier this month, the Missouri State Highway Patrol announced the launch of a public safety campaign to discourage drivers from texting while driving, according to a press release from the Highway Patrol.

At a press conference, the MSHP displayed its new anti-texting logo. The logo will be given to the public in the form of a window decal. The logo was featured in a NASCAR race that occurred in St. Louis. The logo was displayed on the hood of the Con-way Freight race car. Con-way Freight has had a texting ban for its fifteen thousand truck drivers for two years.

The campaign is in addition to Missouri’s anti-texting law. The law prohibits cell phone use for all drivers ages 21 and younger. However, officials are hoping drivers of all ages will stop texting while driving in Missouri. Missouri is one of almost 40 states to prohibit some form of texting while driving.

According to the MSHP, last year there were over 1,700 crashes in Missouri as a result of cell phone usage while driving, which is more than any other form of distracted driving. In the first six months of this year, there were almost 800 crashes as a result of using a cell phone while driving. Those crashes resulted in eight deaths and over 200 injuries.

Texting while driving is dangerous. It involves taking your eyes off the road, removing a hand from the steering wheel and putting your concentration on something besides driving. If you have been injured in a car wreck due to distracted driving, you have legal rights. The St. Louis car crash injury lawyers at Page Law can help you pursue a case against a distracted driver. Call today at 314-322-8515.

A report card recently released by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety says Missouri has done a reasonable job of enforcing state traffic laws and protecting drivers. But the report card also states that Missouri lawmakers have some work to do in order to save lives on the road. According to a KY3 report, the advocacy group grades each state based on 15 laws addressing teen driving, distracted driving, drunk driving and the required use of seatbelts, child booster seats and motorcycle helmets.

Where does Missouri stand? On a scale of green to red, Missouri is a yellow. The state has continued its requirement of motorcycle helmets and booster seat laws. Lawmakers have also fixed the state's graduated licensing law for teens. However, to move to the next level, state lawmakers must adopt an all-driver texting ban, advocates say. Right now, Missouri only bans texting for drivers under 21 years of age. There are five bills that have been proposed to ban texting for all drivers. The report card also puts a new emphasis on tougher ignition interlock laws for convicted drunk drivers.

Continue reading "Missouri Lawmakers Have Need to Toughen Traffic Laws, Report States" »

With the new law on the horizon banning teens from texting while driving, what better way to inform teens of the new law than to spread the word via a mass text message sent by the Governor? According to a faircitynews.com story, the Governor sent about 6,000 text messages to Springfield teens informing them of the new law. Although it is debatable whether or not teens will respond amiably towards such a message, it is understandable that the State of Missouri considered it essential to contact teens. Distracted driving in the form of texting has contributed to far too many auto accidents.

Based on the report, one teen was about to start her car when she received the text message and then allegedly “blocked” the Governor’s number. Another teen who got the message said that he was parallel parking at the time and collided with an SUV in the process of reading and parking. It is a bit ironic that an accident, although small, took place while a teen received the Governor’s message warning about the new law banning teens from texting while driving. Although this new law focuses on teen drivers, adults too should certainly take notice and choose not to text or use a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

It will be interesting to see how teens respond to the new law, and hopefully incidents of auto collisions involving teens will lower as a result. State officials claim that if teens do not adhere to the new ban, then a new program will be ready for implementation. Referred to as the Text-a-lizer, the new program would involve installing an application onto the mobile phones of teens. The application would then be able to detect whether or not a teen has been texting while driving. When the Text-a-lizer is activated, it will automatically turn the teen’s vehicle off, or lock out the ignition system.

Continue reading "Missouri Teens Informed of the Ban against Texting While Driving...Via Text" »

In a press release issued today, text messaging and driving may soon be banned in all states. It will be mandated that all states ban texting while driving if they want to receive highway funding. If they do not comply with the requirement to ban texting while driving, their funding will be withheld. So far 19 states have banned texting and driving. Texting has been linked to many serious Missouri car and truck accident cases. Experienced personal injury lawyers always explore the possibility of an at fault driver texting before a crash.

Illinois is the most recent state to prohibit texting while driving. The law was signed into effect on August 6 bringing the total of states that have banned text messaging while driving to 19. It is expected that Missouri will soon follow the lead of its neighboring state.

In St. Louis, Missouri a tractor trailer accident causing multiple fatalities on Highway 40 was allegedly caused because the semi truck driver was texting while he was driving and caused a chain reaction accident. Entire families were killed during this horrendous truck accident.

According to the Automobile Club of America, the risk of having a car accident increases by 50% for those who text message and drive at the same time. With 46% of new drivers surveyed saying they text and drive, teens are the largest group texting and driving, increasing the risk of cell phone auto accidents in Missouri and throughout the nation.

Continue reading "Texting and Driving Can Be a Deadly Combination" »