In May, 2011, A Virginia teen was tragically killed when his car ran out of gas. He had started to push his car off of Route 7 in Fairfax, VA when a driver who was texting on his cell phone hit him. He died at the scene. While the family did pursue a civil case against the at-fault driver, he was never charged by police because texting on the phone while driving was not against the law. According to WAMU, one Virginia attorney who represented the family in their civil lawsuit hopes to change that with a bill he introduced in 2012. If the bill passes, a driver who is texting could be charged with reckless driving, a Class 1 misdemeanor. The punishment for a Class 1 misdemeanor can be up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Our Virginia car accident law firm has represented those who have been injured by distracted drivers. We feel for those victims and their families who have been injured or killed in this type of crash and think drivers who become distracted by their cell phones and cause accidents should be held accountable.
This report on distracted driving, written by our VA car accident attorneys, talks about the laws that are currently in effect for distracted driving, and how to avoid becoming distracted and causing an accident.
MH