Coral Springs Injury Lawyer Says Florida "Behind the Times" in Curbing Texting While Driving

 

Some thirty (30) states have enacted laws that ban text messaging behind the wheel. However, Florida is among a number of states where pulling out your phone to tap out a few characters while driving remains perfectly legal. In fact, Florida has no restrictions on texting even for teenage drivers or for bus drivers carrying passengers. The facts are clear that texting behind the wheel is extremely dangerous. So why is Florida still behind the times? Well, some Florida lawmakers have already been trying to introduce bills aimed at curbing texting while driving in the Florida legislature.

One of the major anti-texting bills introduced last year would have made texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning a driver could not be ticketed unless pulled over for some other violation. Here, first time texters would face a non-moving violation and a $30 ticket; a second violation within five (5) years would double the ticket cost and would be considered a moving violation. Lawyer firm in California. In many states, drivers can be pulled over for texting as a primary offense, and fines or other penalties are much more severe.

Last year, 2,430 people were killed in motor vehicle collisions in Florida. Although this represents the lowest number of annual fatalities in over three (3) decades, Florida is still one of the most hazardous states for drivers in the nation, coming in third behind California and Texas. This Coral Springs injury lawyer believes that Floridians face a heightened risk from texters: the National Occupant Protection Use Survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drivers in southern states were more than twice as likely to be seen operating hand held electronic devices than in any other area of the country. Tragically, most of the deaths caused by texting are easily preventable, and if a texting ban could help lower the number of victims, lawmakers should give it serious consideration.

Just because there is no law on the books that currently bans texting while driving in Florida, you are by no means barred from recovering damages in a civil lawsuit from a texting driver. If a driver negligently causes an accident by texting, he/she can be held liable for any resulting property damage, costs of medical treatment, compensation for pain and suffering, and lost wages. Even worse, if a family member was killed by a driver's careless texting, a wrongful death suit can help survivors recover monetary compensation as well as funeral expenses. Call the Parkland personal injury lawyers and Pembroke Pines personal injury lawyers at our firm to assist.