Texting behind the wheel has been called an epidemic, and car accidents caused by texting are particularly a problem among young people.
A 19-year old Texas A&M student was killed last week while texting behind the wheel. According to the Houston Chronicle, the teen was driving her Ford F-250 on Texas 30 at a high rate of speed when she failed to negotiate a turn. She veered off the road, and the truck flipped several times.
Texting while driving is a very serious matter. It can take the life of a young driver or passenger on a night when the weather is clear, the roads are empty, and other accident risk factors simply aren’t present. The seconds a driver’s eyes are off the road could be the seconds that cost a life.
According to the Ad Council, a texting driver is 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident than someone who doesn’t text and drive. One single text message can take your eyes off the road for five seconds. While five seconds may not seem like much, it’s enough to travel the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour. In other words, a whole lot can happen in five seconds.
In this age of technology, we are in constant contact. We are always just a few taps away from our friends and family, and we often don’t stop to think about the dangers of this. But when it comes to technology behind the wheel, stopping is exactly what we need to do.
While some phones have settings that allow you to drive and text by voice, even those applications aren’t completely safe. To stay as safe as possible, it’s important to simply put the technology down until you’ve arrived at your destination.
But even when you’ve decided to not text and drive, you could be at the mercy of other not-so-considerate drivers. When this happens, you deserve justice. An attorney with experience representing people hurt in auto accidents can help you get compensation from those who are responsible for your injuries.
