Drivers using electronic devices for communication while behind the wheel is a major hazard and a significant cause of crashes that cause life-threatening and sometimes fatal injuries countrywide. These collisions are avoidable, and those who choose to text while operating a vehicle place their lives and those of the drivers around them at extreme risk.
When you are hurt in a crash because a driver was texting, you have every right to hold them financially accountable for their reckless behavior. Schedule to meet an experienced attorney from the Law Office of David E. Gordon after suffering injuries and losses in a texting while driving car accident in Southaven.
Different Categories of Driving Distractions
There are three primary categories of driver distractions – manual, visual, and cognitive. Texting can fall into all three, making the act especially dangerous.
Manual Driving Distraction
Manual driving distractions are any action or behavior causing the motorist to take their hands off the wheel. This category includes texting, eating, drinking, or playing with the radio or navigation system.
Visual Motorist Distractions
Visual motorist distractions cause the operator to take their eyes off the road. Texting also falls within this category, making it highly hazardous for drivers and other cars around them on the highway.
Cognitive Distractions
Cognitive distractions cause the driver’s mind to wander, taking focus away from safely operating the vehicle. Text messaging can also fall within the cognitive distractions category depending on the conversations.
In recent years, texting and driving accidents have been more common than driver intoxication. Knowledgeable attorney David E. Gordon can investigate and collect evidence to determine the cause and prove liability for a Southaven texting while driving car crash.
Common Texting While Driving Car Wreck Injuries
When drivers remove their eyes from the road for as few as five seconds while traveling 50 miles per hour, they drive the length of a football field. Traveling any distance without looking is a severe hazard and leads to some of the worst road crashes. Some of the most common injuries individuals sustain after being involved in distracted driving collisions in Southaven include the following:
- Broken bones and compound fractures
- Internal organ damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Limb amputation
- Wrongful death
The careless decision to read or send a text message while operating a vehicle can change lives within a blink of an eye.
The Law Regarding Texting While Operating a Motor Vehicle
Because texting while driving is a hazard and causes countless pedestrian, motorcycle, car, and truck collisions a year, most states, including Mississippi, strictly prohibit drivers from texting while operating a car. According to Mississippi Code Annotated § 63-33-1, writing, reading, or sending text messages and other communications while driving is unlawful. The statute further prohibits motorists from using handheld devices for phone calls or posting on social media websites while driving. An exception to the regulations includes the following:
- Using hand-free voice-operated devices for text communication
- Hearing emergency alerts, including severe weather
- Messages involving the safe operation of the motor vehicle
Violation of text messaging laws could mean paying fines and potentially facing reckless driving charges.
Meet With a Southaven Attorney About a Texting While Driving Car Accident
Distracted driving is a significant problem, especially with today’s advanced technology. Because it is such a dangerous action for drivers, most states within the U.S. have legislation to prohibit drivers from texting and driving.
When a driver was texting and caused a crash that left you or a loved one with injuries and losses, you have the legal right to hold them financially accountable. Schedule an appointment with a diligent attorney from the Law Office of David E. Gordon for individualized guidance after a texting while driving accident in Southaven.
