Are Texting and Driving Laws Working? | Seattle Auto Accident Lawyer

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Thousands of people lose their lives every year at the hand of a distracted driver and hundreds of thousands suffer injury. Working as a Seattle car wreck lawyer and King County wrongful death attorney I have seen the devastation these horrible distracted driving accidents can bring to both the victim and the at-fault driver.

An Auto Club texting while driving study shows that the texting while driving ban in California has not fixed the growing problem- in fact, the problem continues to get worse. With more of the population making the switch over to smart phones with internet capabilities every year this problem is not going away. And texting is becoming the most popular mode of communication with some 5 billion text messages being sent in the United States every day.

The study also revealed who was more likely to be distracted by a mobile device while driving. Young women top the list for texting while driving with 4.3% texting at any time on the road, young men were only at 2.1% in comparison. Smart phone use, however, along with ipods and navigation systems is dominated by young men at 3.1% engaging in the activity at any one time compared with 1.6% of young women.

With texting while driving growing into an epidemic California implemented a law banning drivers from texting behind the wheel almost two years ago. Sadly, with a fine totaling up to the cost of a night of bowling ($20.00) the law doesn’t appear to have the results legislatures were looking for.

In addition to the lack of real consequences, there is also the problem of catching violators. It is often difficult to catch a texter in the act since they typically store their cell phone in their lap- out of view of any other vehicle along the road.

The Auto Club seeks to end this dangerous habit by getting the California legislature to impose harsher consequences on violators. Studies show that imposing stricter consequences, having a ticket go on a driver’s record, for example, are extremely effective in preventing drivers from engaging in dangerous and illegal behavior.

This information is provided by Straight Talk Law, where you can order free books on Washington auto accidents, buying Washington car insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Washington personal injury attorneyand author Jason Epstein and his auto accident, motorcycle accident, and wrongful death law firm in Seattle, Washington.