Many people argue that the term “accident” doesn’t apply when someone gets behind the wheel of a car when they are intoxicated and then cause a crash. Many also argue that “accident” doesn’t apply to crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by distracted drivers.
One woman knows from painful experience that “accident” can simply be the wrong word and concept to apply to many motor vehicle crashes. Her mother was killed when her car was hit broadside in an intersection. The other driver ran a red light, busy talking on his phone at the time of the violent collision.
“He was remorseful,” the woman remembers of the other driver. He admitted to being on the phone and “never changed his story.”
But even his admission was insufficient to get the federal government to attribute the fatal wreck to distracted driving. It was merely another digit in the annual National Highway Transportation Safety Administration report on fatalities.
Three months after her mother died, Jennifer Smith quit her job and formed a nonprofit support and lobbying group dedicated to making tragedies like the one that took her mother anomalies.
Nine years later, it must be conceded that that battle is so far a losing one. U.S. traffic fatalities have reversed a decades-long decline and surged 14 percent in the past two years.
Many people believe the cause is in your pocket, your purse or your hand: the smartphone. Americans’ use of the devices is greater than ever.
More than 80 percent of us now own one, and as anyone who drives in Brooklyn can tell you, more and more drivers are using their phones while behind the wheel.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash caused by a distracted driver, you can pursue full compensation for all damages with the help of an attorney experienced in personal injury litigation. Please contact us for more information.