April is right around the corner now, and with it comes Distracted Driving Awareness month. Distracted driving is becoming more of an issue than ever in our tech-obsessed world. You’ve probably seen your fair share of drivers with their eyes on their phones instead of the road ahead. A current Senate bill is hoping to make that a thing of the past.
Senate Bill 76: Texting in Florida
The Senate is currently reviewing Bill 76, which is an attempt to put some punch behind Florida laws surrounding texting while driving.
Currently, texting while driving is only a secondary offense in the state of Florida. This means that, while you can be ticketed for texting, you cannot be pulled over for it. If a police officer sees you texting while cruising down the road, they are unable to stop you unless you commit another traffic violation.
In our current laws, there is little stopping motorists from texting while driving. The consequences for taking your eyes off the road while driving a 3+ ton vehicle are almost non-existent. As long as you don’t break any other traffic laws, you can text your drive away.
If passed, Bill 76 would make texting while driving a primary offense. Police would be able to stop and ticket motorists on their phones without another law being broken first.
The Cost of Texting
There’s a real cost to texting while driving, and it’s not what’s on your phone bill. According to TextNinja, an online hub for distracted driving awareness, in 2015 texting caused:
- More than $10 billion in property damage
- Over 1,500,000 collisions
- Over 300,000 injuries
- More than 3,000 fatalities
Every year, we watch as millions of crashes are caused by texting. As hundreds of thousands of injuries are occurring. As thousands of lives are being lost. When lives are on the line, is there anything so important that it can’t wait for after you’re done driving? I can’t think of anything.
In personal injury law, we’ve seen firsthand the destruction that texting while driving can cause. We’ve been practicing as personal injury and auto accident lawyers for decades, and we know the cost of distractions. People have come to our offices after losing a loved one or losing the ability to work. These accidents aren’t inevitable, they’re caused by a choice.
A poor, destructive choice to text while operating a several-thousand-pound vehicle around hundreds of others. It may have become cliché at this point, but whatever it is, it can wait.
It’s not worth ruining your life and the lives of others to answer a text. Keep your eyes on the road and your distractions at home.
Contact Brooks Law Group
You can make all the right choices. You can be as careful as possible. You can’t, however, guarantee others will. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, you need experienced legal guidance.
At the Brooks Law Group, our clients often come to us at their lowest points in life. That’s why our attorneys and staff go above and beyond to make the process easy, understandable and quick. Your client experience will always come first. Let us help you get the compensation you need to get back on your feet.
If you’ve been injured, Look to Brooks!
