Motorists continue to engage in this hazardous practice despite a Florida law banning texting and driving

When you take your eyes off the road to send a single text message, your vehicle can travel over 300 yards in less than 5 seconds.  Imagine the danger of multiple drivers on a single highway who are texting and driving without paying attention to the road or other vehicles, and it becomes clear how dangerous this apparently innocent practice can be.  Some estimate that over 800,000 drivers are texting on the roadway each day across the country, not watching traffic or other vehicles that may be present, as they casually send messages and surf Facebook on their phones.

Given these facts, it is no wonder that nationwide, texting and driving causes 1.6 million accidents per year, many of which involve injuries to passengers or even deaths.  Statistically, texting is now more dangerous than drunk driving, a key culprit in highway accidents for decades.  The Boca Raton texting accident attorneys at Osborne & Associates, P.A. are deeply concerned about the hazards of texting and driving, and the potential for causing serious accidents and grave injuries.  Our firm is dedicated to recovering damages for victims of this deadly form of distracted driving.

In 2013 the Florida legislature addressed this growing problem by passing a law prohibiting texting and driving on the state’s highways.  However, that law is a ‘secondary offense’ meaning that the police cannot pull over a driver simply for texting, and there must be another traffic violation involved.  Perhaps for this reason, texting remains a common practice in Florida, and causes many serious accidents each year.  There are calls to strengthen the law and increase the level of deterrence, but for now texting just brings a citation like any traffic offense.

The important point to understand for anyone injured by a texting driver is that the Florida statute makes texting a clear breach of the duty of careful driving owed to others on the highway.  What this means is that if you are injured in an accident that is caused by a driver distracted by texting, then you have a good chance of recovering compensation for any damages.  In other words, texting and driving is clearly negligent and there is no way to avoid responsibility for this careless behavior.  In the event of an accident with injuries, cell phone records can be examined to prove that texting occurred at the time of the accident, making it easier to confirm the fault of the driver.

At premier Boca Raton personal injury law firm, Osborne & Associates, P.A., we have a team of highly-skilled accident attorneys prepared to pursue compensation on behalf of anyone injured at the hands of a distracted or texting driver. We are aggressive in our approach to holding negligent parties responsible for damages resulting from poor decisions and careless actions.  Contact us at (561) 293-2600 via email to schedule a free initial consultation in our Boca Raton office..