Was Your Car Accident Caused by a Texting Driver?
Smartphone technology has made it easier than ever to stay in contact with loved ones and handle much of our online activity remotely. Unfortunately, cell phone use and texting in particular have also made it more dangerous to engage in other activities, like driving on Florida’s increasingly congested roadways.
Florida’s Texting and Driving Ban
In Florida, it is illegal to text or engage in similar activities on a cell phone while driving. Drivers who are seen in violation of this law can be stopped, cited, and required to pay a fine. Unfortunately, despite these prohibitions, many drivers in Florida continue to text (or otherwise use their cell phones) while driving, putting themselves, and other road users, at risk of serious injury in the event of a collision.
Texting and Driving Accidents in Florida
Texting and driving is a lot more dangerous than most people realize. For instance, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) estimates that the use of electronic communication devices (like cell phones) by motorists resulted in more than 9,000 car accidents across the state last year alone. Tragically, 20 of those collisions resulted in at least one fatality. These numbers don’t even take other electronic devices, like navigation systems into account, which are thought to have contributed to an additional 3,000 crashes.
How to Prove that Another Driver Was Texting
Accident victims who can prove that another driver’s distraction, which can include texting while driving, caused their crash, can often recover compensation for their losses, but only if they can provide convincing proof of negligence. This could include cell phone records, witness testimony, video footage and photographs of the moments leading up to the accident, social media posts, police reports and statements from first responders, GPS data, information from a vehicle’s black box, admissions of fault made at the scene, and traffic citations. Accident victims can use this evidence to pinpoint exactly how a distracted driver caused a crash, which in turn will enable them to seek damages for their medical bills, lost wages, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering.
Was Your Florida Crash Caused by a Distracted Driver?
Despite public safety campaigns and increasingly stringent anti-texting laws, collisions caused by distracted driving (and texting in particular) continue to occur at an alarming rate in Florida. Drivers who engage in this kind of reckless behavior can and should be held liable for their actions, so if you or a loved one were hurt in an accident and believe that a texting driver was at fault, please consider reaching out to one of our experienced Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers to learn more about your recovery options. Get in touch with the legal team at Boone & Davis by calling us at 954-566-9919 or by reaching out to us via online message. We are standing by and prepared to get started on your case right away, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or online message at your earliest convenience.
Sources:
flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2020/316.305
flhsmv.gov/pdf/crashreports/crash_facts_2021.pdf
