Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
On March 23, 2010, a crash involving three vehicles too place in the northbound lanes of Interstate 215 in Murrieta, California. Apparently the crash involved a Dodge pick up truck, a BMW and a Nissan Quest minivan and happened just after 2:00 p.m. It appears as though the driver of the pick up hit the BMW which then collided with the minivan causing it to careen off the freeway. The extent of the passengers’ injuries are not known. Witnesses say that one of the drivers was text messaging just before the crash. According to Riverside car accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, this accident illustrates the dangers of texting while driving.
Although texting while driving is illegal in California, drivers continue to engage in this dangerous behavior. It is true that texting while driving is more prevalent among teenagers, but adults are guilty of texting while driving as well. More than one-third of teenagers admit to texting while driving, but at least 20% of adults admit to texting while driving as well. The problem with texting while driving is that it creates a distraction for the driver. Statistics tell us that four out of every five accidents are caused, at least in part, by distracted driving, says Riverside car accident attorney Emery Ledger. Anything that takes our eyes off the road can be the cause of an accident. People that text while driving are almost 25% more likely to be involved in an accident. The reason for this is that whether you are reading a text or sending a text you are not watching the road. Although we live in a “multi-tasking” world, texting while driving is a poor example of multi-tasking. Studies tell us that drivers have an average of only two seconds to realize a potential road hazard and then react to the hazard in order to prevent a collision. Studies also tell us that reading and average text message takes four seconds and composing and sending one takes even longer. As you can see, those precious seconds spent testing can mean the difference between avoiding a collision or being involved in one. The bottom line is that texting while driving is one of the most dangerous and potentially deadly behaviors we can engage in while driving, according to Riverside car accident attorney Emery Ledger. Texting while driving is actually six times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated. A sobering statistic like that should put the dangers of texting while driving into perspective.
If you have been involved in a Riverside car accident and you believe that texting while driving was to blame for the accident, then you may have a good car accident case. Consult with an experienced car accident attorney to explore your legal options. If you would like to speak to Riverside car accident attorney Emery Ledger, call his office at Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: accident, accident attorney, accident case, accidents, car accident, car accident attorney, crash, dangerous behavior, riverside county, road hazard, statistics, teenager, teenagers, text, text message, text messaging, texting, texting while driving
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
If we are honest, most of us would have to admit that we have sent or received text messages while driving. Some of us do it regularly while some of us only occasionally -but most of us engage in text messaging while driving at some point. You may think that texting while driving concerns only apply to teenagers, but you are wrong. Statistics tell us that while teenagers do text more while driving, adults are texting as well. Nearly 50% of all teenagers admit that they frequently send and receive text messages while driving, but 20% of experienced adult drivers are texting as well.
According to personal injury attorney Emery Ledger, of Ledger & Associates, texting while driving can result in some of the most serious, and even fatal, accidents. His firm is currently representing one of the plaintiffs in the Chatsworth train accident, one of the worst train collisions in U.S. history. In that accident alone, 25 people were killed and many more seriously injured. The National Transportation Safety Board inquiry into the Chatsworth train accident showed that the engineer that was responsible for following signals on the tracks was sending and receiving text messages just seconds before his train collided head-on with another train. It appears as though he did not heed a red light that was intended to prevent the two trains from being on the same track at the same time. The nation’s highways may not be any safer. Texting while driving has been shown to be six times more likely to result in an accident than drinking and driving. We all know how dangerous drinking and driving can be, yet there is an even bigger danger out there in the form of a simple message. “Statistics tell us that we are 23% more likely to be in a car accident if we are texting while driving” according to personal injury attorney Emery Ledger.
Why is texting so dangerous? Texting is a distraction and anything that distracts us while driving creates a danger. In the seconds it takes to read or write a text message any number of things can happen on the road that require our attention. Clearly, if we are busy texting then we aren’t reacting to the changing road conditions as quickly as we need to in order to avoid an accident. Science tells us that we require at least one second to process changing road conditions. We then have to react to the condition. In total, it takes the average person about 6 seconds to be able to come to a complete stop if they are traveling at 60 m.p.h. This is a small window to react and stop in interstate traffic with virtually no margin for error. If you add in even the 2-3 seconds that your eyes were off the road reading or sending a text message, then the margin for error evaporates and an accident is inevitable.
So the next time you have the urge to communicate with someone while you are driving, use a hands-free device or pull over and send that urgent text message. And when your phone goes off telling you that you have a message, remember that waiting just a few minutes to read it may save your life.
If you have any additional questions about texting accidents or any other personal injury questions, please contact Emery Ledger online at www.ledgerlaw.com or toll-free at 1-800-300-0001.
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
At one point in time, in the not too distant past, our biggest worry for out teenage driver was that they would drive after drinking alcohol or get in the car with someone that had been drinking The good news is that the efforts we have made over the last two decades to educate teenagers of the dangers of drinking and driving are starting to pay off. Statistics show us that accidents caused as a result of teenagers drinking and driving have gone down 35% over the past twenty years. While that is certainly wonderful news, there is another teenage phenomenon that appears to be taking the place of drinking and driving as the number one danger to teenage drivers and passengers – texting while driving. It may seem odd to put text messaging in the same category as drinking and driving, but the risks and dangers to people on the nation’s roads are strikingly similar.
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) puts driving while texting at the top of the list as the biggest distraction while driving. According to a study conducted by SADD, texting while driving is becoming every bit as dangerous as drinking and driving as far as its ability to inhibit a teenager’s driving abilities. Another research study put teenage drivers behind the wheel of a simulated car and had them operate the vehicle through simulated scenery in both rural and urban settings. Their first run through was distraction free. They then ran the same course while texting, talking on a cell phone and operating an MP3 player. The study showed that the teenagers that were texting while driving were the most dangerous – weaving in and out of lanes, slowing down erratically and even running over virtual people. Some studies have even suggested that texting while driving may be worse than drinking and driving. The theory is that texting, whether sending or receiving, takes your eyes off the road. Anything that takes your eyes off the road is a potential cause for an accident. The risk for teenagers (and the rest of us on the road) skyrockets when you combine their lack of experience with not watching the road. Not surprisingly, nineteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam now have laws that prohibit all drivers from texting while driving. An additional nine states ban novice drivers from texting while driving.
The State of California is one of the States that has passed a law banning all text messaging while driving. As of January 1st of last year, the Wireless Communications Device Law made it an infraction to write, send or read text messages on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle in California. Despite the ban, teenage drivers continue to use their mobile devises to send and receive messages while driving. Texting while driving, or talking on a cell phone while driving, may be the basis of a negligence claim if an accident ensues. If you have been the victim of an accident and you feel that texting, or talking, on a cell phone was involved, then contact and experienced California personal injury lawyer immediately for a consultation. The attorneys at the personal injury firm of Ledger & Associates are standing by to talk to you at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com. The Ledger Law Group’s past cases include some of the most serious texting accidents in the United States, including the MetroLink Train Accident which occurred in Chatsworth, 2008. If you have been injured by someone’s negligence as result of them talking on a cell phone or texting while driving please contact LedgerLaw for detailed case evaluation.
Tags: accidents, cell phone, distraction, drinking alcohol, effects of texting, talking and driving, teenage driver, teenage drivers, teenager, teenagers, text messaging, texting, texting while driving, wheel, worry
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Sunday, February 7th, 2010
As more and more statistics are being released about the dangers of teenage drivers, states have begun to debate at what age, and under what conditions, teenagers should be allowed to obtain a drivers license. If you’ve ever lived in the house with a teenager, you know how scary it can be when they first begin to drive. There is a reason that we are hesitant to turn over the keys to the family car to a 16 year old. According to the CDC, in 2008 about 3,500 teens in the United States ages 15-19 were killed and over 350,000 were injured as a result of motor vehicle accidents. While that age a group represents about 14% of the U.S. population, they account for about 30% of the total cost of motor vehicle injuries. Even more disturbing is that teenagers are more likely to be at fault in the accidents that they are involved in. Why are teenage drivers so dangerous?
For starters, they simply lack experience. Driving is a skill that we acquire over time. As with many things in life, the more we drive, the better we get at it. Many teenagers have very little actual time behind the wheel when they receive their driver’s license. Teenagers are more easily distracted than experienced drivers. Whether they are texting, talking on the phone, talking to other passengers or looking for a good place to eat, they are significantly more likely to be distracted than an adult driver. Additionally, they may be driving while fatigued or under emotional stress. Teenagers also lack the life skills to handle emotional stress while doing something as important as driving.
Furthermore, if an emergency situation arises, teenagers are less likely to know how to effectively handle the situation and/or avoid an accident. For example, a teenager is far less likely to know what to do when road conditions turn dangerous suddenly. That same teenager may panic if someone pulls out in front of them or may not know how to handle problems with his vehicle while driving.
So what can we do to help limit the risk of being in an accident with a teen driver? Many states have enacted graduated license programs. These laws allow teenagers to gradually obtain an unrestricted license after they have spent some time driving under a restricted license. This way, they gain experience driving during the day, without passengers before they are allowed out on the roadways unhindered. Many of these teenagers will make excellent drivers some day – they just need the experience to be able to handle themselves on the road. If you have been the victim in an accident involving a teenage driver, you should consult with a California accident attorney immediately. Your California accident attorney can evaluate your situation and let you know what options you may have to be compensated for any injuries you have suffered.
If you would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: adult, drivers license, emergency situation, emotional stress, motor vehicle accidents, motor vehicle injuries, statistics, teenage drivers, teenager, teenagers
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