Reading Time: 3 minutes

Our firm receives calls daily from potential clients who have questions, and, even if we can’t help them with their case, we do our best to provide confidential answers.

However, there has been an increase in “distracted driving accident” questions, such as when someone feels that the other party may have been on the phone, and could we get copies of time-stamped phone records to prove it? 

(The answer much of the time is “yes, but we’re going to have to fight hard for those records.”)

I feel that an “accident” may happen due to a tire blow-out or a sudden blinding glare from the low afternoon sun. You could be driving down the road with both hands on the wheel, going the speed limit, and boom, there goes a tire.

However, most car crash cases are not accidents – they are collisions.

What’s The Difference Between an Accident Versus a Collision?

Intentional acts. Intentional speeding, tailgating, or what we hear about now, the intention of a person to remove their eyes from the road and be distracted.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles website: Collisions are not accidents. An “accident” implies an unforeseen event that occurs without anyone’s fault or negligence. Most often in traffic, that is not the case.

It’s not every day I agree with the DMV, but that statement is 100% accurate.

Distracted Driving Accidents Increasing

Distracted driving has become such a mainstream issue, which the government has created a website here, which happens to be chock full of astonishing facts, such as more than 400,000 people were injured in 2014 due to the incident involving in distracted driving.

In April 2015, the Chula Vista Police Department selected 6 hours of one day to stop and cite drivers who were distracted. The result was 78% were on their phone!

The number of deaths and incidents of injury also rose from 2013 to 2014.

So it makes sense why I’m speaking to more people who have been in car crash (not an accident) and we believe that the other party at fault may have been distracted, and was likely using their phone.

Why Did I Write This Blog?

I wrote this blog because I know that the people who are at fault for the accident did not mean to cause it. They did not believe that by replying to a quick text, or adjusting their GPS that they would cause an accident and hurt someone, but it happens. However, I have seen the result of this behavior and can not stress enough how much pain it can cause, or the loss of life.

Distracted Driving Awareness Month returns in April of 2017. Much like the New Years resolutions we are all trying to stick to, to really change a behavior requires setting goals and adjusting a lifestyle for success.

If you’re reading this blog and feel like you drive distracted at times, or maybe text even short replies (hey, we’ve all done it at least once) let’s do this for 30 days.

Let’s see if we can reduce the accidents, the injuries, and the loss of life so everyone can make home!

…Who is with me?

*Please feel free to comment below, and also any tips or suggestions for apps, devices, etc., would be wonderful to find posted below in the comments section. Thank you!