Distracted Driving Accidents are Real, Get an Attorney ASAP

Greenberg & Stein are personal injury lawyers of New York City taking on distracted driving accidents.

At Greenberg & Stein we feel compelled to increase awareness and to educate the general public about the dangers of distracted driving accidents. As technology advances, we may have smartphones, but we also have drivers making dumb choices.

Everybody’s life is filled with distractions these days and any activity that takes your concentration off the road while driving and puts it somewhere else, is a distraction. Taking your eyes off the road for even a second can mean life or death driving accidents. Unfortunately, many New York drivers do not understand the dangers of distracted driving accidents.

What Is Distracted Driving?

Anything that takes your focus away from the road and driving in a safe and defensive manner can be labeled as distracted driving. Searching for the right music station, checking your voicemail, looking at a text message and even daydreaming may seem “harmless” but they can result in serious and even fatal car accidents.

Driving distractions fall into three categories: personal, external or internal:

• Personal distractions: These occur when a driver is impaired by daydreaming, alcohol, drugs, fatigue or unsafe practices like reading, writing, eating, shaving, applying makeup or using electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, iPods or GPS navigation systems.

• Internal distractions: These occur inside the moving vehicle and are caused by passengers, animals or objects inside the vehicle.

• External distractions: These occur outside the moving vehicle, like other motorists, inclement weather, deteriorated road conditions, or even eye-catching scenery and accidents.

According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report created to analyze the impact of “Driver Inattention On Near-Crash/Crash Risks” distracted driving is the primary contributing factor to crashes and near crashes. Almost 80% of crashes and 65% of near accidents in this study involved the driver looking away from the forward roadway just prior to the conflict.

A Second Is All It Takes: Distracted Driving Accidents

For the most part, the reality of what daily driving or driving long distances is like isn’t taught in driver’s education classes. How to change your music when fully stopped, dealing with other erratic drivers, handling traffic, navigate the GPS—all these mean taking your eyes off the road—even if only for a second. A second is how long it takes for accidents to happen.

Drivers can be distracted visually, manually and cognitively; each one either takes the driver’s eyes off the road, the driver’s hands off the wheel or the driver’s mind off the road.

Here is a list of visual, manual and cognitive distractions during driving:

• Looking at cellphones
• Texting
• Conversations with other drivers
• Hands-free devices/ GPS devices
• Eating
• Drinking
• Applying makeup
• Adjusting the radio
• Loading the CD player
• Using MP3 players
• Kids demanding attention
• Pets who are not caged
• Very loud music
• Reading
• Looking at a physical road map
• Watching TV

Unfortunately, the dangers of distracted driving are not understood by many drivers in the United States (not just New York), so while traveling anywhere- even a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere (and perhaps especially there!) be alert and aware of other distracted drivers.

Texting While Driving Is Illegal In New York City

New York law prohibits drivers of all ages from holding and using portable electronic devices while driving. The ban was implemented on July 12, 2011, and one year later Governor Cuomo reported that there had been 20,000 tickets issued to motorists for violations of the ban.

The highest concentrations of “texting while driving” tickets last year were issued in Manhattan (3,714), followed closely by Queens (3,334) and Brooklyn (3,234).

Exceptions to the New York texting laws are:

• When a driver uses a hands-free mobile telephone, allowing the user to communicate without the use of either hand.
• Using handheld electronic devices that are affixed to a vehicle surface.
• Using a GPS device attached to the vehicle.
• When the purpose of the call is to communicate an emergency to a police or fire department, a hospital or physician’s office, or an ambulance corps.

Greenberg & Stein NYC Car and Distracted Driving Accidents Attorneys

If you suffered an injury or lost a loved one in a car accident because of a distracted driver, you need a car accident lawyer in New York City to help you recover the compensation you deserve.

At Greenberg & Stein we proudly serve Manhattan, Queens, L.I., Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx. We are committed to giving clients the best legal advocacy we can offer. The sooner we hear from you, the faster our New York City personal injury lawyers can work together to create an effective and aggressive strategy for your case.

Contact us immediately

360 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1501

New York, NY 10017

Call us today: 888-411-3966

Email us anytime: seth@greenbergandstein.com