Philadelphia Texting and Driving Accident Lawyer

For many law enforcement officials, the fairly new anti-texting initiative in Pennsylvania, which was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett, on March 8, 2012, is slowly encouraging motorists to focus on the task of driving with fewer distractions. Texting and driving is now a primary offense because of the risk it presents, so if you were involved in an accident caused by a driver texting, call a Philadelphia texting and driving accident lawyer to discuss the next steps of legal action.

The Dangers of Texting and Driving

Currently, thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. Recently, in New Jersey, the fine was significantly raised from $50 to anywhere between $100 to $250 fine for the offense of using a handheld for those with a graduated licensed or texting while driving. The increase was partially in response to the reality that catching people who text and drive is very difficult and a small fee does not impact one’s actions as much as a heftier fine. Despite the current law prohibiting texting while driving nearly 800,000 drivers at any given time are texting while driving. It is clear that texting while driving is a reckless and dangerous act that can be avoided if you simply text before you put your key into your ignition and or text after you park your car. If you or a loved one were seriously injured as a result of a driver who was texting while driving, consider the experienced Personal Injury Law Firm of Rosenbaum and Associates, with their vast experience. We handle car accidents cases throughout Pennsylvania and have successfully recovered millions of dollars car accident victims. If it can be established that a driver was texting and caused an accident we can make a claim for punitive damages, which punishes the driver for their reckless behavior.

Why all the fuss for one of the most common form of communicating in Philadelphia as well as across the country? Simply put multitasking and driving is a lethal combination. Texting, which falls under the umbrella term of distracted driving, causes 1,600,000 accidents per year according to the National Safety Council. In 2011, 3,331 people died in crashes in which the police reported that distractions were a contributing factor. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study found that nearly 330,000 injuries result from accidents that were caused by texting and driving. A far grimmer statistic, that anti-texting laws hope to curb, is the fact that 11 teen deaths occur every day as a result of texting and driving, as reported by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety fatality facts. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has equated driving while texting to have the same effect as those who drive after consuming four beers. Further stating that you are twenty-three times more likely to crash while texting, and that your brake reaction time is greatly impacted by nearly eighteen percent. It is unrealistic to say that we as a society will all together stop texting. In 2012, 2.3 trillion minutes were spent talking on the phone, with over 2.2 trillion text messages sent and received by user. Like many other actions, time and place are paramount for everyone’s safety.