Distracted Driving

The Most Common Causes of Car Accidents

August 2, 2018 By Christopher

While a fair amount of St. Louis car accidents happen due to strange circumstances, the vast majority happen because of a specific set of common causes.

Understanding those causes can do two things for you. First, you can avoid those behaviors yourself, which will significantly decrease your risk of getting into an accident. Second, you can recognize when another driver is driving dangerously, and choose to keep your distance from them. With education and behavioral shifts, you can drastically increase your chances of safety.

Speeding

Cars driving over the speed limit get into accidents at a much higher rate than cars moving at appropriate speeds. This is because a speeding vehicle is hard to steer and slow down. If a speeding driver needs to stop quickly or make an evasive maneuver, they are much more likely to get into an accident than a driver that is going to speed limit.

Intoxication

Drinking alcohol or being on drugs significantly affects driving in a variety of ways. Drivers will often experience slower reaction times, poor judgment, aggression, and a tendency to become distracted. All of these factors combine to make intoxicated driving one of the top causes of accidents.

Distractions

Though most people are guilty of some sort of multitasking while on the road, it is incredibly unsafe and should be avoided. They eat, do makeup, take phone calls, text, and a variety of other distracting activities. The result is taking their eyes off the road and hands off of the wheel. This kind of distracted driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving and is a significant cause of crashes.

Weather

The only common factor that is not behavioral is the weather. In the rain or snow, drivers will often lose control of their vehicles and the results will be dire. The best way to avoid this is taking all necessary safety precautions and avoiding the road entirely when conditions are especially dangerous.

Running Red Lights

Running red lights leads to a significant number of accidents every year. Overly aggressive or distracted drivers can do it, but either way, the consequences are dire. Given that these accidents come at high speeds and are often in a T-Bone alignment, the fatality rate of red light incidents is very high.

Fatigue

Drivers that are fatigued are a liability to themselves and the drivers around them. Much like drunk drivers, their reaction time and ability to stay focused suffer greatly. It may not get as much publicity as some other factors on this list, but fatigued driving is actually one of the most deadly.

Next time you’re out on the road, keep on eye on yourself and other drivers. If you are driving in a way that puts you at risk, then it is time to start removing that habit. On the other hand, if another driver is driving dangerously, then do your best to get away from them and towards safer drivers. If you end up in an accident for whatever reason, you can always contact our St. Louis car accident attorneys to discuss your options. Call us 24/7 at (314) 361-4242 for a FREE case evaluation.

3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Your Cell Phone While Driving

July 11, 2018 By Christopher

Distracted driving is becoming even more common, and it’s one of the leading preventable causes of death and injury on the highway.

Many people have done it – gotten a notification on their phone while driving, picked it up, and tapped out a reply to a text message. Sure, they we were a little distracted for a second – but everything ended up okay, right?

As any car accident attorney can tell you, this is not always the case. Distracted driving is extraordinarily dangerous, and it is never a good idea to use your phone while driving.

Here are just 4 reasons that you should keep your phone in your pocket while driving, and avoid distracted driving.

1. You Are Far More Likely To Get In An Accident

When you drive distracted, you don’t have your eyes on the road – and you can easily drift off of the highway, hit a car that’s slowing down, or even injure a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist. Cell phone use causes 1.6 million accidents per year.

If you take your eyes off of the road for just 5 seconds at 55 mph, you cover more than the length of a football field.

2. You’re More Likely To Be Found At-Fault For An Accident

If you were distracted while driving, and you are involved in an accident, you are far more likely to be found at-fault by your insurance company, and you may be liable if the victim of the crash hires a car accident lawyer to pursue a lawsuit.

Currently, Missouri law only prohibits under-21 drivers from texting and driving, though a new bill may extend this ban to other drivers. However, while texting and driving may be legal, that does not mean that it’s safe, or that it is not a factor taken into account during the insurance claims process.

3. Distracted Driving Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Deaths On The Highway

Distracted driving caused 3,450 deaths in 2016 alone, and injured 391,000 people. For comparison, drunk driving caused 10,497 deaths in 2016.

Distracted driving is becoming even more common, and it’s one of the leading preventable causes of death and injury on the highway, especially among teenagers and young adults, who already have significantly higher crash rates.

Don’t be a victim – or cause an accident. Put the cell phone down while you’re driving. It’s not worth your life.

Don’t Drive Distracted In St. Louis – Keep Yourself & Others Safe

The costs associated with a distracted driving case can be quite high. Higher insurance, legal costs, court fees, and more can take a toll.

So don’t drive distracted in St. Louis. Stay safe, and keep your phone where it belongs while you drive – out of sights, and out of mind.

Injured in a Distracted Driving Accident?

Call (314) 361-4242 for a FREE Consultation

Drivers Still Using Phones Despite Knowing the Dangers – St. Louis Attorneys

June 27, 2017 By Christopher

No text message is so important that you should risk your life to read it.

We all know that using a mobile phone while driving is distracting, and we also know that distracted driving is very dangerous. So why do so many drivers insist on using their phones while they drive? In this post, our St. Louis whiplash lawyer will discuss the results of a study that highlights this problem.

A recent survey by State Farm shows that 91% of drivers own a smartphone and over half of these drivers use their phone while they are driving. In 2015, 3,477 people died due to distracted driving and 391,000 were injured.

Not surprisingly, the survey concludes that those drivers who use their phone while driving are more likely to have an accident when compared to those who don’t use a phone in the car.

It seems people just don’t care, even when we know the dangers. While driving, people use their phones in a variety of ways. They take video, take photos, send text messages and browse the Internet, as well as make and receive calls. Of the 26% of drivers that use the Internet while driving, a massive 96% of them stated that they thought it was a distraction and 77% believed it made them more likely to have a crash.

Another interesting fact was revealed by the survey. It seems that the more apps drivers use on their phone, the higher the likelihood that they would also risk crashing by other means such as not using a seat belt, racing, driving while tired or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

While the drivers admit that it is dangerous, the most common reason given for using a mobile phone while driving is that they need to keep in touch.

Mobile phone usage when driving and the law

While most of us know that mobile phone usage is a distraction when we are driving, many of us are simply not aware of the laws regarding mobile phone usage in their state. State Farm suggests that awareness of these laws is really important as the study showed that when drivers knew it was actually illegal to use their mobile phone when driving, they were far less likely to actually use it. Fear of legal repercussions, such as losing their license or getting a fine is the 2nd most common reason given for never using a mobile phone when driving. The most common reason stated was simply that it is not safe.

Don’t text and drive

There is no text message so important, and nothing you need to Google that is worth risking your life for. Many people die each year simply because they performed one of these trivial tasks. If you are having trouble, turn your phone off while driving and you won’t be tempted to use it. If you really do need to take a call, find a safe place to pull over and call the person back. This action really could save your life, and those of your passengers or other drivers on the road.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by a distracted driver, contact a competent St. Louis car accident lawyer to learn more about your legal rights. Call (314) 361-4242 today for a free case evaluation.

Distracted Driving Car Accident Lawyer St. Louis

September 29, 2016 By Christopher

Cognitive distraction can be as dangerous as any other type of distraction, and can lead to serious accidents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from the primary task… driving. Distracted driving can take three primary forms:

Manual distraction: taking your hands off the steering wheel
Visual distraction: taking your eyes off the road
Cognitive distraction: taking your mind off of driving

Of these three types of distractions, cognitive distraction quite possibly gets the least amount of attention. Whenever there is a mention of distracted driving, we often think of manual or visual distraction. However, the reality is that any distraction is dangerous and can lead to serious accidents.

Why cognitive distraction is dangerous

Cognitive distraction can be defined as any form of distraction that affects a person’s mental processing. It occurs when the driver’s mind wanders. This can happen when:

reading a map kept on one’s lap, looking at directions
changing the radio station
looking at something or someone by the roadside
dealing with children in the back seat
voice controlled texting
being deep in thought
being stressed out about work or reaching a destination in time

Each of these types of distractions can cause a driver to lose focus, and this can result in a physical change in the driver’s behavior. This, in turn, increases the risk of an accident. For example, if the driver is thinking deeply about something that happened at home or at the office, they are less likely to identify and properly respond to any risks or dangerous conditions encountered on the roadway.

Cognitive distractions occur when you are trying to multitask. The struggle to juggle tasks reduces the ability of the driver to perform each of the tasks properly. For example, when you are typing a text message using voice command, your attention is diverted into forming words and sentences, vocalizing them, and possibly checking the screen to see if everything is being typed correctly. This creates a major distraction, and takes your attention off the road even if it is for a second. This subdivided attention, renders the driver impaired.

Have you been injured in a distracted driving accident?

Distracted driving accidents are often serious and even fatal, because the driver often fails to recognize the dangers and respond to them appropriately. Distracted drivers often make grave mistakes and lead to accidents that cause serious injuries to all involved.

If you have been injured by a distracted driver, get in touch with an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer at The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. to get help with your claim. We can evaluate your case free of charge and help you determine the best way to proceed with your accident claim.

Call (314) 361-4242 today for a free case evaluation.

Texting Isn’t the Only Distraction

June 3, 2016 By Christopher

Study shows distracted driving involving smartphones includes more than just texting.

A lot has been said about the dangers of distracted driving. In spite of all the driver education and awareness campaigns, distracted driving is till claiming lives on American roads each day. There is research to prove that even a few seconds of distraction is enough to put lives in danger, however, many drivers still do not abstain from reading and writing text messages. However, texting is not the only distraction that leads to crashes. In this post, our St. Louis automobile crash lawyer will discuss the other distractions that pose danger to drivers.

We all are well aware of the consequences of texting and driving. In 2015, 861 traffic related deaths were reported in Missouri. Of these, around 100 involved the use of cell phones. Missouri law prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from texting and driving. Although the dangers of texting and driving are well known, many teenagers’ habits have now evolved into something even more dangerous. They now using social media while driving. Research shows that the smartphone usage slows down the driver’s distraction time by over 38 percent. Alcohol on the other hand, typically slows the reaction time by 12 percent.

A study by AT&T has revealed that over 40 percent of drivers use social media while driving. Drivers do not just text while driving, they also update statuses, post to Instagram, and send Snapchats. According to distraction.gov, at any given time there are over 660,000 drivers using their cell phone while driving. This is a startling number given the risks involved, and the potential there is for an accident resulting from this action.

There was a recent case involving a 30 year old man who got killed in a collision caused by a distracted driver. The at-fault driver was had been taking a Snapchat video right before the crash occurred. Snapchat has a feature that allows the users to take a video and then the app automatically posts how fast the user is traveling.

The AT&T study also revealed some other statistics. According to research, the various smartphone activities that drivers engage in while driving include:

Texting (61 percent)
Email (33 percent)
Surfing the web (28 percent)
Facebook (27 percent)
Instagram (14 percent)
Snapchat (11 percent)

The study also found out that:

60 percent of the drivers keep their cellphone within easy reach when driving
22 percent of those who access social network while driving blame it on addiction
30 percent of those who post to twitter while driving do it all the time
27 percent of those who shoot videos while driving think they can do so safely

Distracted driving is a problem that can only be countered with collective effort. It is important for all drivers to pledge not to use their smartphones or engage in other distractions while driving.

St. Louis Automobile Crash Attorneys

If you or someone close to you has been injured in a car accident caused by a distracted or negligent driver, you should speak with an experienced St. Louis automobile crash lawyer to ensure your legal right to compensation is protected. Contact our attorneys 24/7 at (314) 361-4242 to schedule a free case evaluation. We want to help!