October 14, 2014
Is Texting While Driving More Dangerous Than Drunk Driving?
Sending text messages may make communicating more convenient, but it also appears to enhance the dangers of driving. Researchers recently concluded that texting while driving is more hazardous than drunk driving.
What You Need to Know About Distracted Driving
As a DUI attorney, this is bad news. While it’s encouraging that drunk driving is no longer the number one cause of accidents and deaths for teens, it’s disheartening to see that it has been replaced with something so preventable.
The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimates that texting and driving kills an average of 3,000 people annually. Moreover, some 330,000 injuries are caused by the same activity. These are sad statistics to a DUI attorney. With numbers like these, many a DUI attorney will find themselves handling more text message related personal injury cases.
Texting and Driving is a Problem for All Ages
Other studies demonstrate that texting and driving is not a problem that only affects teens. Adults also have a tendency toward distracted driving, with about half saying that they text or check email while behind the wheel.
Still, just because more people are injured or killed by texting and driving does not lessen the dangers of drunk driving. A DUI attorney can advise clients that the penalties for drunk driving remain the same even if the overall number of people being arrested for these infractions is on the decline. An experienced DUI attorney also knows that most states have passed laws that prohibit texting and driving. That means severe penalties may result from ignoring these laws.
A DUI attorney is skilled at handling a number of different cases. Nonetheless, it’s never easy to see how the aftermath of a DUI arrest affects an individual. The same is true for someone who causes an accident while texting behind the wheel. This dangerous habit can have far reaching consequences that severely limit the individual’s future choices. A DUI attorney may be able to provide valuable advice to a driver who made the mistake of texting while on the road.