Texting while driving includes composing, sending or reading a text message on a cell phone or similar electronic device while behind the wheel. It is the most dangerous form of distracted driving and the cause of many car accidents in Providence and throughout Rhode Island.
If you have been seriously injured or have lost a family member in a car accident attributed to texting while driving, the lawyers of Gemma Law Associates, Inc., can examine your case and determine the compensation you are due for your losses.
To arrange a free consultation, simply call or contact us online today.
Why Is Texting While Driving Dangerous?
Texting is one of many distractions drivers face. It’s dangerous because it interferes with several different functions that are needed to drive safely, including:
- Manual (hands on steering wheel)
- Visual (eyes on the road) and
- Cognitive (paying attention to one’s speed, for instance, or to other motorists).
A driver who is texting takes his or her eyes off of the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If you are going 55 mph, that time is equal to driving the length of a football field without looking, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says.
Unfortunately, too many drivers ignore the perils of texting. For instance, 25 percent of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive, according to a 2012 survey, while 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit to having extended, multi-message text conversations while driving.
In Rhode Island, texting while driving has been illegal since 2009. Still, in the first two-and-a-half years of the ban, law enforcement officials issued nearly 600 tickets and drivers paid more than $36,000 in fines.
At Gemma Law Associates, Inc., we believe that texting while driving is careless if not reckless conduct. When Rhode Island residents are injured because of a texting driver, we work hard to secure the compensation they deserve for their vehicle damage, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other losses.
Making a Case against a Texting Driver in Rhode Island
There are several ways to determine that a driver was texting at the time of an auto accident.
For example, the driver’s cell phone records will indicate the time a text was sent. Your attorney can acquire these records. When text messages were read and sent and the content of the texts can establish that the driver was texting at the time of impact.
Your lawyer can also investigate the crash itself. Evidence that the driver failed to brake on time to avoid the accident, or that the car crossed the centerline or ran off the road, may indicate the driver was not paying attention.
Statements from witnesses, including passengers in the texting driver’s car or those who received or sent a text could also establish that a driver in a car crash was texting while driving.
A proper texting accident investigation also examines third-party liability for an accident. If a texting driver was driving a car on the job, for instance, the driver’s employer might be liable for the driver’s actions – especially if a boss or co-worker originated the text. (In fact, a New Jersey court recently suggested that individuals who send texts to someone they know or should know is driving could be held liable for any accident caused by that driver’s texting.)
Our Rhode Island Car Accident Lawyers Can Handle Your Texting Accident Case
The car accident attorneys of Gemma Law Associates, Inc., have more than four decades of experience in helping crash victims and their families in Providence and across Rhode Island. We can put that experience to work for you if you or a loved one has been injured by a texting driver.
Call us today toll free or use our online form. We will provide a free and confidential evaluation of your case and advise you of your legal options.
Serving the Greater Providence metro area, including Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, North Providence, South Kingston, Coventry, Cumberland, Woonsocket, and East Providence.
