Talking On Cell Phones and Texting While Driving Is Not So Dissimilar From Drunk Driving – New National Organization Formed to Call Focus to This Epidemic
An epidemic of car accidents occurring while driving a vehicle and operating a cell phone either by talking or texting has resulted in a multitude of catastrophic accidents and fatalities. According to a recent study by the National Safety Council, 28% of all traffic accidents occur when people talk on cell phones or send text messages while driving. The study indicates that a vast majority of those crashes, 1.4 million annually, are caused by cell phone conversations and 200,000 more are blamed on text messaging. Because of the extent of the problem, federal transportation officials unveiled an organization on Tuesday patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving that will combat driver’s cell phone use. The group is named Focus Driven which grew out of a meeting of distracted driving sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation.
As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who has handled many catastrophic car accidents resulting from cell phone usage and resulting inattention to the roadway, I salute the efforts of the Focus Driven organization and the attention being thrust upon this epidemic problem. Unfortunately, it is not until you look into the faces of those who have lost a loved one as a result of driver inattention is the gravity of this situation is recognized.
Law enforcement needs stronger laws and better tools to enforce these violations.
