Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

I don't know about you, but whenever I see someone texting while driving, I get upset. With all of the information available, as well as the laws specifically prohibiting texting while driving, I am quite often aghast to find that the person driving next to me (sometimes on the highway) is texting while driving. Sadly, it is truly a motor vehicle accident waiting to happen. As Chicago personal injury attorneys, we recently read a report by Governors Highway Safety Association, entitled Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What States Can Do. The report summarizes research, available since January 2011, regarding distractions produced by cell phones, text messaging, eating and drinking, personal grooming, reading, talking to other passengers, and even daydreaming.

Distracted driving occurs anytime the drivers' attention is diverted from the road. In fact, it is so common that the research showed drivers were distracted up to 50% of the time. When it came to crashes, at least one of the drivers involved was found to be distracted 15-30% of the time. In 2009, NHTSA estimated that "16% of fatal crashes and 20% of injury crashes … involved at least one distracted driver."

One of the most frightening sites on the road is a semi-truck or tractor-trailer driver texting while operating a large truck. Distracted truck drivers are more likely to cause accidents that can lead to catastrophic personal injuries. The results of the now often-cited study conducted by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute will serve as a reminder: truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted drive. Consider the size and weight of semi trucks and trailers compared to other vehicles. It is no wonder that a collision with a semi can cause serious and fatal injuries to any involved.