Experienced Savannah Car Crash Lawyers Helping Victims of Distracted Drivers
Fighting to obtain compensation for your injuries and daily pain and suffering
According to recent distracted driver statistics, vehicle accidents due to unfocused drivers are a leading cause of driver occupant fatalities and injuries. Many more people drive and text or drive and use a cellphone that you might think. Technology use is just one of the many ways teenagers and adults are becoming an increasing danger to other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Some of the data show that more than one in eight fatal car crashes are due to distracted driving, causing about 5,000 deaths each year. Teenagers are distracted about a quarter of the time they are driving.
At Harris Lowry Manton LLP, our Savannah distracted driver lawyers understand the dangers of distracted driving and how to prove a driver was indeed distracted. We not only bring claims against the drivers, but we also sue the owners of the vehicles and any businesses, such as trucking companies, that helped to cause the distracted driving. Our car accident lawyers have been helping Georgia injury victims get justice for decades by pursing high-end jury verdicts and substantial negotiated settlements.
Why distracted driving is so dangerous
Distracted driving is dangerous for three core reasons. Drivers who are distracted:
- Take their eyes off the road
- Remove their hands from the steering wheel
- Fail to focus on the traffic around them
Just a single second’s distraction can mean the difference between stopping on time and hitting the car in front of you, swerving into another lane, or running a red light. Many distracted drivers are distracted for 5, 10, even 25 seconds. Distraction time does not include just the time the driver is focused on his cellphone or food. It also includes a latency period — the time it takes the driver to refocus.
Types of driver distractions
Drivers of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and any vehicle should know that safety comes first. The reasons for the distractions are usually due to poor planning, bad training, and lack of common sense. Parents should explain the dangers to teens before they get in the car. Trucking companies should explain the dangers of driver fatigue to their employees.
Some of the common types of driver distraction are:
- Texting while driving
- Talking on a cellphone
- Looking at a GPS system
- Eating
- Personal grooming
- Speaking with passengers, especially ones in the back seat
- Adjusting the radio or CD
Georgia has new laws that prohibit texting while driving for all drivers. Additionally, drivers under 18 years of age cannot use a hand-held cellphone or hands-free cellphone while driving. School bus drivers also cannot use cellphones, either hand-held or hands-free.
Make the call to a skilled Savannah distracted driving lawyer today
At HLM, our lawyers often demand punitive damages to be paid in addition to standard civil damages because distracted driving is inexcusable. We bring wrongful death claims on behalf of families when a loved one is killed and demand compensation for full medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and scarring for living clients. To speak with a premier Savannah distracted driving lawyer, please call us at 912-651-9967 or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation.
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Savannah Office
410 E. Broughton Street
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912.651.9967
Fax: 912.651.1276