Anyone who has ever driven alone cross-country knows how monotonous spending hour after hour behind the wheel can be. So it’s no wonder that commercial truck drivers want to talk on their cell phones to friends and family. Unfortunately, some drivers become so distracted by the conversation or the actual act of dialing that accidents occur. One such fatal truck accident happened in Kentucky (KY) in 2010. Reports now show that the driver of the tractor-trailer ho was responsible for the crash had just initiated a call before he crossed a median and plowed into a van, killing 11 people.
Officials are asking for a national ban barring commercial drivers from calling or texting from behind the wheel. As a Virginia (VA) car accident injury attorney, I’m positive that texting and driving should be banned for all drivers, but I’m not sure if banning phone calls for truckers is the answer.
However, a study by the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration revealed that reaction times are reduced by about 20 percent for drivers using cell phones. There is a condition called “inattentive blindness” during which the cognitive distraction caused by mobile phone use mutes a driver’s awareness of information related to driving.
These days, people use cell phones to get driving directions, check email, update Facebook, send text messages and even (if you can believe it) make phone calls. It’s hard not to pass a line of cars on I-64 in Virginia Beach or Norfolk, VA, without seeing at least one driver on a cell phone.
Many times, the reason you spot that distracted driver is because he or she performed some type of unsafe manuever such as failing to yield to cutting you off. Distracted drivers, commercial and otherwise, make roadways so dangerous.
If you have been injured in a car or truck accident in Virginia or North Carolina (NC) and you think the at-fault driver was on a cell phone at the time of the accident, it is possible to subpoena phone records. Distracted driving from cell phones is an epidemic that might require government legislation to address if people cannot govern themselves. We have created a free consumer report for anyone looking for information about accidents caused by distracted driving: Distracted Driving Report: Head Injuries Not Uncommon in Car Accidents.
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