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Using a cell phone while driving is an extremely dangerous activity that could result in a severe or potentially fatal car accident. If you have been injured in a crash caused by a driver who was texting, scrolling through their social media feeds, surfing the web, or talking on the phone without using hands-free mode, you could be owed compensation from them. Here, we discuss how often distracted driving accidents happen, why they are so dangerous, and what the laws are in Oklahoma.
What Are Some Distracted Driving Accident Injury and Fatality Statistics?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine people die in accidents involving distracted drivers every day in the United States. In a recent year, distracted driving killed 3,142 people. Approximately 324,652 people were injured in distracted driving crashes in the same year.
Approximately 660,000 drivers use a cell phone or another electronic device at any given time while driving. Federal statistics show young drivers make up a significant portion of distracted driving accidents. Drivers in their 20s account for 27 percent of fatal crashes involving distracted drivers.
Why Is Using a Cell Phone While Driving Dangerous?
Technological advances allow cell phones to do more than make and receive calls. People use them to send texts, respond to emails, watch videos, take pictures, and navigate.
Cell phone use is dangerous while driving because it requires looking at your phone, taking one or both hands off the steering wheel, and thinking about what you want to do. No one can focus on the road ahead while looking down at their phone.
You take your eyes off the road for five seconds when you read or send a text. During that time, you can travel the entire length of a football field if your speed is 55 miles per hour.
Is Using a Cell Phone While Driving Illegal in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma law requires every motor vehicle operator to devote their full time and attention to driving. Using a handheld electronic communication device to send, compose, or read a text manually while driving is illegal.
An electronic communication device is any electronic device allowing a user to transmit text-based communications. It does not include:
- Hands-free devices for sending, writing or reading text messages without using either hand
- Devices electronically or physically integrated into the vehicle
- Ignition interlock devices (IIDs)
- Voice-operated GPS and navigation systems attached to the vehicle
- Texting laws allow specific exceptions. Drivers can use electronic devices to communicate during an emergency with:
- Law enforcement agencies
- Emergency response operators
- Ambulance service providers
- Health clinic, physician’s office, or hospital
- Firefighter service providers.
How Do You Prove Liability in a Distracted Driving Case?
Negligence is the legal basis for personal injury claims, including those that involve distracted driving accidents. Negligence is the failure of one party to reasonably prevent another’s injury. Typically, to show that another driver is at fault for the crash, you must prove they were negligent.
However, negligence per se might apply in your case. You don’t have to prove the driver failed to reasonably prevent your injury if they violated a public safety law such as texting while driving. You must show only that your injury resulted from the crash which their actions caused.
Evidence you could use to establish liability in a distracted driving accident includes:
- Statements from eyewitnesses — You might not have seen the other driver using their cell phone, but witnesses might have seen what happened. Their statements can show the driver was distracted in the moments before the collision.
- Police report — The officer investigating the motor vehicle accident should complete an accident report. The report might show that the officer issued the other driver a citation for texting while driving or being distracted. You can use the report to support your claim that the other driver was at fault.
- Phone logs — A driver’s phone logs can show timestamps for sending or receiving texts immediately before the accident occurs. The phone log might prove they weren’t paying attention to the road ahead because they were looking at their cell phone.
- Video footage — The footage from a traffic or security camera could provide indisputable proof of driver distraction. A nearby camera could capture the at-fault motorist using their cell phone, causing them to run a red light or crash into the back of a stopped vehicle.
- Driver statements — The investigating officer and the insurance company can obtain statements from each driver involved in the collision. The negligent motorist might deny being distracted, but you can provide a statement about their actions.
What Compensation Can I Recover When a Driver on Their Phone Causes an Accident?
The distracted driver might be financially liable for your injury if that driver was at fault for the accident. You can file a claim or lawsuit to recover compensation for your:
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emergency room visits, surgery, prescriptions, and other medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Mental anguish
- Property damage.
What If Someone Is Killed in a Distracted Driving Accident?
You might be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit if your loved one died in a distracted driving accident. Only the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can bring legal action against another party for wrongful death. The compensation could include:
- Mental pain and anguish between the deceased’s date of injury and death
- Burial and medical expenses
- Lost wages and benefits the deceased could have earned
- A surviving spouse’s loss of consortium and grief
- Loss of companionship and grief endured by the parents or children.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations allows a two-year timeframe to file a lawsuit for injuries sustained in distracted driving accidents. That means you have two years from the crash date to initiate your lawsuit against the negligent driver. The statute of limitations for wrongful death allows a two-year timeframe from the date of death for filing suit. The personal representative of the deceased’s estate must initiate the lawsuit within two years of the death.
Talk with an Experienced Oklahoma Distracted Driving Lawyer Today
Edwards & Patterson Law aggressively advocates for those injured in collisions in Tulsa, McAlester and throughout Oklahoma, including those caused by drivers who were using their cell phones while behind the wheel. If a distracted driver injured you or a loved one, call or contact us online for a free consultation right away.
