This week, California Highway Patrol officers in Orange County have been cracking down on drivers caught text messaging or talking on cell phones that aren't hands-free devices. This type of enforcement is important in preventing Orange County, California car crashes caused by distracted drivers--many who don't fully grasp that phone conversations and texting while driving can be dangerous. These latest CHP efforts took place in Westminster, San Juan Capistrano, and Santa Ana, California.
Although the texting and handheld phone bans have been in effect for some time, many people still can't resist the urge to make an important phone call or catch up with a friend while caught in traffic. In 2010, the CHP gave out 397 texting-while driving citations and 11,367 citations to motorists who talked on cell phones that were not hands-free. Also, last year, the Automobile Club of Southern California put out a study that showed that the level of texting while driving seemed to actually go up after the ban went into effect.
Our Westminster, California personal injury law firm cannot emphasize enough the risks motorists put themselves and others in when they text while driving or talk on a handheld device. Distracted driving has become an "epidemic" to the point that for the last two years, the US Department of Transportation has hosted gatherings focused on combatting this problem.
Meantime, the National Safety Council released a white paper pointing out that talking on a hand-free cellular device was also dangerous because this too requires that the brain multitask, which a person should not be doing while driving. Per the white paper, a driver on any type of cell phone may "look at" but fail to "see" up to 50% of the information in his/her driving environment. This type of "inattention blindness" can make it difficult for a motorist to spot potential hazards and respond swiftly and properly.
CHP officers on the lookout for drivers violating cell-phone laws, OC Register, February 9, 2011
The National Safety Council Releases White Paper on Brain Distraction During Cell Phone Use While Driving, National Safety Council, March 26, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving
Related Blog Posts:
$49.2 California Car Accident Verdict Awarded to Driver's Family and CHP Officer Who is Now a Quadriplegic, California Injury Lawyers Blog, January 28, 2011
Allstate Says 12/15 is Day California Car Accidents are Most Likely to Occur, California Injury Lawyers Blog, December 6, 2010
16-Year-Old Cypress Pedestrian Dies from La Palma, California Car Accident Injuries, California Injury Lawyers Blog, November 6, 2010
To schedule a free consultation following an Orange County, California traffic crash, contact our Santa Ana personal injury law firm today.
