Accidents Caused by Texting

Is Texting While Driving Legal?
How Dangerous is Texting While Driving?
How is Percentage of Fault Determined in an Accident that Involves Texting?
Does the Fact That a Driver Was Texting Affect His Victim's Ability to Obtain Recompense?
Punitive Damages in an Auto Accident Caused by Texting
What Should I Do if I am Injured in an Auto Accident by a Texting Driver?
A checklist for accidents caused by texting.
Local Driving Laws Concerning Texting or Using Cell Phones While Driving

Is Texting While Driving Legal?

In a 2007 study conducted by Clemson University, text messaging and using iPods caused drivers to leave the lane they were driving in 10% more than non-texting drivers. In October 2009, President Obama signed an Executive Order forbidding Federal workers from texting while driving. In January 2010, the U.S. Transportation Department announced a ban on texting while driving applicable to interstate buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds. Currently, nineteen states and the District of Columbia prohibit drivers from texting. A number of cities in Ohio, including Cleveland, and counties, including Summit, have passed ordinances prohibiting texting while driving. A bill that would prohibit texting while driving has been introduced in the Ohio legislature. Both houses of the U.S. Congress are considering bills to restrict texting while driving.

How Dangerous is Texting While Driving?

Texting while driving is extremely dangerous. Several studies have shown that texting while driving impairs drivers' abilities similar to driving under the influence of alcohol. A study conducted by Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute found that truckers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near miss. The National Safety Council recently released statistics indicating that 28 percent of traffic accidents occur when drivers are talking on cell phones or texting. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration compiled data that shows that a driver sending and receiving text messages takes his eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds of every six seconds while texting. This translates to a period of about 100 yards while driving at 55 miles per hour without looking at the road. Back to top.

How is Percentage of Fault Determined in an Accident Involving Texting?

After an accident, an insurance company claims adjuster typically will investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and assign relative degrees of fault to the parties to that accident. This is a purely subjective determination and is usually the subject of negotiations between the injured party and the insurance company. This is where the Brown & Szaller law firm can help you. Our lawyers understand the factors that go into the insurance companies' determinations of fault and we are skilled at investigating and assessing accidents and advocating on the injured person's behalf for the lowest percentage of fault. Back to top.

Does the Fact That a Driver Was Texting Affect His Victim's Ability to Obtain Recompense in an Accident Involving Texting?

Usually, yes. The question of who is at fault in an accident is probably the most important aspect of any car accident claim. Fault is determined by negligence. The person at fault is the person whose negligence is responsible for causing the accident. Usually, it is the person at fault who must pay for the damage he or she caused by acting negligently. When someone crashes their car into a pedestrian or another car while texting, that person is likely at fault. Sometimes, it is not clear whose was negligent or whose negligence caused a car accident. Sometimes, more than one person was negligent and there is shared fault. In that case, fault is apportioned between the negligent persons, depending on their contribution to the cause of the accident. As such, it is important to retain an experienced lawyer who is skilled at ferreting out the true cause of an accident and establishing that a person was texting at the time. The lawyers at Brown & Szaller are experienced at establishing that a texting driver was the responsible party in an accident. Back to top.

Punitive Damages

Drivers who text while driving can be sued for punitive damages or damages above and beyond compensation to an injured person so as to punish the offender for reprehensible conduct. This threat usually results in favorable insurance settlements because insurance companies do not want to expose their insured to personal damages beyond the insurance coverage. Back to top.

What Should I Do if I am Injured in an Auto Accident by a Texting Driver?

The first thing you need to do, assuming you are not rushed off to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, is to take stock of the situation. In other words, you need to gather evidence, talk to witnesses, take photographs with your cell phone camera, document the condition of the driver, and write down all important information. Back to top.

YOU CAN FIND A CHECKLIST OF INFORMATION YOU NEED TO GATHER HERE.

Should I Contact a Lawyer if a Loved One is Injured in an Accident by a Texting Driver?

It is important to seek legal assistance from a lawyer with experience in the type of injury your loved one has sustained as soon as possible after the accident. Your lawyer will need time to obtain witness statements and gather a variety of information, including phone records, that is necessary to prosecute your case. The earlier you contact a lawyer, the greater your chance of obtaining a strong recovery either through settlement or if you have to file a lawsuit for compensation. With adequate time, an experienced lawyer can strengthen the case, emphasizing favorable facts while fortifying weaknesses in the case. Do not attempt to handle the case on your own. There are likely to be issues of fault, subrogation and insurance coverage that only an experienced lawyer will understand.

An experienced lawyer will know the general contours of information required to strengthen your claim for compensation and how to obtain that information quickly and with the least amount of problems. Thus, you increase the likelihood that you will prevail in your case and you increase the amount of compensation you are likely to recover by retaining a lawyer with experience in auto accident cases, particularly where texting is involved. An experienced lawyer, such as those at the Brown & Szaller law firm, will meet with you, listen to what you have to say, explain your legal options, gather the critical evidence, obtain and review medical reports and witness statements, and help you decide upon the best course of action. Brown and Szaller lawyers will guide you through a complicated process involving insurance issues, pay back (subrogation), the amount of coverage and whether your own coverage applies. Do not trust the at fault parties insurance carrier. Brown and Szaller has handled numerous car accident cases to successful conclusion.

The lawyers at Brown & Szaller will meet with you for a free initial consultation. Even if you are unsure whether you have a claim for compensation we will discuss the facts of the case and your options and together determine the viability of your case with no up-front charge.Back to top.

CONTACT BROWN & SZALLER

Studies Involving Driving While Texting or Using Cell Phones

A National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) study found that in 2002, 955 deaths and 240,000 accidents involved drivers who were preoccupied with cell phones.

A study by University of Utah Psychology Professor David Strayer found that, "…people are as impaired on a cell phone as when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08 percent…."

A study from the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis estimates that cell phone use while driving contributes to 6 percent of auto accidents, which adds up to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries, and 2,600 deaths per year. The financial toll from crashes as the result of cell phone use while driving costs 43 billion dollars. As a result of the aforementioned studies, and other ongoing studies by the NHTSA and numerous newspaper articles, the National Safety Council has called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones while driving.

Laws Banning Driving While Texting and Cell Pphone Usage

A chart shows all 50 states laws concerning cell phone and texting while driving at statehighwaysafety.org. Ohio is one of the few states that has no laws concerning this issue. Even Arizona has a ban on the use of cell phones by school bus drivers. Ohio has no such law.

There are few cell phone and texting specific local ordinances. Many cities use a catch all ordinance, which could be used to cite users of cell phones who are driving unsafely or involved in a crash. The ordinances are under the full time and attention while driving: "No person shall operate a vehicle without giving his full time and attention to the operation of such vehicle." The city of Brooklyn made national news back in 1999 with one of the first cell phone ordinances, but they have not amended this ordinance to cover texting. The city of North Olmsted has a specific ordinance for cell phone usage while driving, covering both talking and texting. The cities of Cleveland and Olmsted Falls have an ordinance that specifically bans texting while driving.

Local Driving Laws Concerning Texting or Using Cell Phones While Driving

I. The City of Avon, does not have an ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving.

II. The City of Avon Lake, does not have an ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving

III. The City of Brooklyn, has a specific ordinance pertaining to cell phone use while driving. 31.45 USE OF MOBILE TELEPHONES WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE.

(1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway while engaging in any conduct defined as the "use" of a mobile telephone unless the operator maintains both hands on the applicable steering device
(2) Subsection (e)(1) hereof does not apply to a person who is using the mobile telephone:

A. To contact public safety forces, or
B. While maintaining the vehicle in the Park position either on public or private property, or
C. With a "hands-free device" which allows the operator to maintain both hands on the vehicle while using the mobile telephone.

Additionally, Brooklyn also makes use of § 331.34, (c) No person shall operate a vehicle without giving his full time and attention to the operation of such vehicle.

IV. The City of Bay Village, Although Bay Village does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (c) of the Bay Village codified ordinances state:

V. The City of Cleveland, has a specific ordinance in relation to texting while driving, § 433.09 Text Messaging While Driving states,

(a) As used in this section:
- (1) "Text message" means a message sent or received via a process using wireless handsets. For the purposes of this section, an e-mail shall be considered a "text message."
- (2) "Wireless handset" means a portable electronic device capable of transmitting or receiving data in the form of a text message.
(b) No person shall use a wireless handset to compose, send or read text messages while driving a motor vehicle in the City of Cleveland

Additionally, § 431.34 (c) of the Cleveland codified ordinances states:

(c) No person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle without giving his full time and attention to the operation of such vehicle.

VI. The City of Fairview Park, does not have an ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving.

VII. The City of Lakewood, Although Lakewood does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (c) of the Lakewood codified ordinances states:

VIII. The City of Lorain, Although Lorain does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (c) of the Lorain codified ordinances states:

IV. The City of North Olmsted has a specific ordinance in relation to cell phone and texting while driving. It should be noted that in order for a driver to be cited under this ordinance they must commit a moving violation. 331.42 USE OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICES WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE.

(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) "Mobile Communication Device" means a cellular, analog, wireless and digital telephone, and any other wireless electronic device, such as a text messaging device, personal digital assistant, or computer, that is designed or used to communicate text or data.
(2) "Using" means operating a mobile communication device by:

A. Dialing;
B. Answering;
C. Talking;
D. Listening; or
E. Text Messaging or Typing.

(3) "Park" means, for a vehicle with automatic transmission, to place the vehicle in park gear, and, for a vehicle with a standard transmission, to place the vehicle in neutral gear and apply the brake.
(b) Use and Restrictions.
(1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway while using a hand-held mobile communication device.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause an operator of an automobile being operated on any street or highway to stop the automobile for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of subsection (b) hereof has been or is being committed by dialing, answering, talking or listening on a cellular, analog, wireless or digital telephone, or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation or summons for a violation of that nature or causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for a violation of that nature; nor shall any law enforcement officer view the interior or visually inspect any automobile being operated on any street or highway for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of subsection (b) hereof has been or is being committed by dialing, answering, talking or listening on a cellular, analog, wireless or digital telephone; and further, no law enforcement officer shall cite the operator of any automobile being operated on any street or highway for a violation of subsection (b) by dialing, answering, talking or listening on a cellular, analog, wireless or digital telephone, hereof unless the officer has stopped the operator for the purpose of issuing a citation, or making an arrest, for a moving traffic violation for which points are charged pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4507.021.

X. The City of North Ridgeville, Although North Ridgeville does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 432.38 (b) of the North Ridgeville codified ordinances state

(b) No person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle without giving his or her full time and attention to the operation of such vehicle.

XI. The City of Olmsted Falls, has a specific ordinance in relation to text messaging (texting). 432.41 TEXT MESSAGING WHILE DRIVING.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) "Text message" means a message sent or received via a process using wireless handsets. For the purposes of this section, an e-mail shall be considered a "text message."
(2) "Wireless handset" means a portable electronic device capable of transmitting or receiving data in the form of a text message.

(b) No person shall use a wireless handset to compose, send or read text messages while driving a motor vehicle in the City of Olmsted Falls.

XII. The City of Parma, does not have an ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving.

XIII. The City of Rocky River, Although Rocky River does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (c) of the Rocky River codified ordinances states:

XIV. Sheffield Village, Although Sheffield Village does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (c) of the Sheffield Village codified ordinances states:

XV. The City of Westlake, Although Westlake does not have a specific ordinance in relation to texting/cell phone use while driving § 331.34 (a) of the Westlake codified ordinances states:

(a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon any street or highway without exercising reasonable and ordinary control over such vehicle.

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