Car accidents are responsible for nearly 37,000 deaths per year in the US, and according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) people who text while driving cause 20% of vehicle collisions. Texting while driving has been known to cause many types of accidents from pedestrian accidents to multi-car pileups, also known as a chain reaction crash, that involves multiple cars crashing into one another.
On average, a driver will take four seconds to look at his phone while driving. To put this scenario into perspective, that is four seconds that a multi-ton, engine powered, machine is blindly traveling at a speed of 60 miles per hour or more, a distance of 352 feet, easily covering more than one football field. This fact is the reason why texting and driving is among the leading causes of vehicle related death in America.
The process of determining liability in a pileup can be a complicated matter because multiple parties could be partially at fault. The investigation following a pileup will focus on finding what caused the pileup to occur. Just because one car initiated what became a chain reaction, you should not assume that the driver of that car is at fault. For example, if one vehicle attempted to merge into a lane causing a second vehicle to swerve to avoid hitting the first vehicle, but then hit a car in a different lane, the first vehicle actually caused the collision even though it was not damaged in any way. Tread marks, witness statements, cell phone records and many other factors are considered in determining fault.
Liability will determine who pays for the damages that the victims of a pileup have suffered. The at-fault party will be responsible for paying multiple people for damages and compensation in order to make them “whole again”. Compensation required to cover damages can skyrocket in multi-car collisions as their may be several plaintiffs making a claim against a single defendant.
If you are texting while driving and are involved in an accident, you are much more likely to be found liable. Even if you had a tire blowout which led to the crash, the fact that you were distracted by texting could be used to show that you failed to act quickly and as a responsible driver would have reacted to prevent the accident. There is no use in trying to hide the fact that you were texting either; during the investigation and discovery period, phone records will be gathered that can verify if you were texting while driving and such records will be used against you during settlement negotiations and in court. In addition, insurance companies, if they cover you at all, are likely to raise your premiums if a crash resulted from you texting while driving.
Texting while driving is not worth the risk of injury or death to yourself or others, not even for a second. Never text and drive.
Learn how to protect yourself in the event of a pileup and remember to “Stay Safe” if you are involved in an accident. If you or a loved one were injured, talk to an accident lawyer.