Articles Posted in Auto Accident

          Effective today, it is now illegal to text or email and drive in Indiana.   Doing so is now an infraction subjecting the unsafe and negligent driver to a $500 fine.  It is hoped that the new law will lessen driver distraction and decrease many car accidents caused by the failure of drivers to keep a proper lookout as they read, text and drive.

 Indiana lawmakers indicated that the law against texting will prevent many auto accidents especially among teenagers that can cause serious injuries, damages and even wrongful deaths.  However, the law does not prohibit game playing, picture taking and even surfing while driving! 

  Fortunately, Indiana has other laws that an injury lawyer can rely upon in helping clients.  A distracted driver may not realize that they are speeding or approaching areas that require speed reduction for the safety of other drivers and their own passengers.  The Indiana Vehicle Code requires that the driver of each vehicle shall, drive at an appropriate reduced speed when approaching and crossing an intersection or railway grade crossing, approaching and going around a curve, or hill crest,  while traveling upon a narrow or winding roadway and when special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions. 

Car accidents happen. In fact, on average, it is estimated that an American citizen is in an auto accident six times during his or her lifetime. There were 6.4 million automobile accidents in the U.S. during 2005, the latest statistic available. However, the National Highway Transportation Safety Board’s early estimate is that 34,000 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2009. Since there is a likely chance that you will be involved in a car accident in your lifetime, we’ve listed some tips for you know about car accidents.

1) Remain at the scene of the car accident. Whether there is injury or property damage or not, it is important to stay at the scene until the police give you permission to go. A person who leaves an accident scene prematurely can be cited and even charged criminally. It is better to wait and take the extra time to give an incident report to the police than to later find yourself in deep trouble.

2) At the car accident scene, do not move or administer first aid to anyone who is injured. You set yourself up for greater liability if something goes wrong and you are held responsible. Turn your car emergency flashers on and call 911, letting the trained first-responders handle the rest.

Do you use your cell phone while driving? Have you texted a friend while driving? Has something caught your eye that has prompted you to take a picture while driving? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you may have been considered as distracted as a drunk driver. That’s right, a study conducted by the University of Utah in 2006 showed that people using cell phones while driving are as distracted as drunk drivers. To make matters worse, it has been estimated by the AAA that roughly 3 million auto accidents are caused by distraction in driving.

Let’s face it, using cell phones in any capacity while driving can lead to other distractions. Cell phone use can contribute to tunnel vision. Cell phone use can limit our ability to scan the road. Cell phone use may lead to being lax when performing activities required for driving such as using blinkers and rear view mirrors. In fact, people that perform other activities while driving tend to reduce their speed when compared to drivers that are not multi-tasking.

There are also laws in the making to safeguard against cell phone drivers. At first glance, it appears that some of the tougher laws are targeted toward teenagers. Several states have banned teens from texting while driving. Yet, no one is suspected to ultimately be immune from cell phone driving laws that will better restrict people of all ages from using cell phones while driving.