Inside: How Distracted Driving Affects Your Liability in a Car Accident. Collaborative post.
As a driver, the last thing you want is to find yourself involved in a car accident on the road. Unfortunately, car accidents are extremely common and can result in serious injuries or even death.
Fault, and particularly who is at fault, is a major factor in regard to accidents and is the pivotal topic focused on in ensuing insurance claims or lawsuits. Negligence is typically the determining factor for who is primarily to blame for an accident.
Photo by Alexandre Boucher on Unsplash
There are many reasons a driver may be negligent on the road, but few are as dangerous as simply being distracted. Considering that distracted driving kills nine people every day on average, it should be no surprise that insurance and the courts treat it very seriously.
Learn everything you need to know about how distracted driving can affect your liability in a car accident.
What Constitutes Distracted Driving?
While it might seem easy to define on the surface, there are actually different levels to distracted driving that make it more complicated than it first seems. The short answer is that distracted driving is anything which takes your attention away from the road. However, there are three sub-types of distracted driving which may come into play:
- Visual: This type of distracted driving involves you taking your eyes off the road due to texting, looking at the GPS, or some other reason
- Manual: This form of distracted driving involves taking your hands off the wheel for eating, adjusting the radio, or other similar actions
- Cognitive: This form of distracted driving involves mental distractions like daydreaming, conversing on the phone, and more.
Regardless of the type of distracted driving you or another driver engages in, the end result is the same: danger. Even taking your eyes off the road for a second can have devastating consequences. For perspective, one in ten crashes on the road involve a distracted driver and while they don’t all end in injury or death, the legal and insurance headaches are more than enough of a deterrent.
The Legal Concept of Negligence
The biggest concept that comes into play in a distracted driving case in regard to determining fault is, as mentioned, negligence. Accidents happen in life and that’s a fact, including when cars collide. However, when one driver acts so carelessly that the accident would not have happened if not for their lack of care, it is known as negligence.
Some common examples of negligent behavior include trying to catch a yellow light, rolling through a stop sign, speeding to reach an appointment, checking your phone when you get a text, and more. You likely noticed that the final example on that list is also a form of distracted driving. It should therefore come as no surprise to find out that distracted driving does indeed qualify as negligence in many cases.
All drivers on the road have an inherent and legal duty of care to other drivers around them. This means that they are required to act responsibly and in a manner that keeps themselves and others safe. A clear breach of this duty is grounds for a lawsuit to be filed with negligent driving as the main cause, meaning you could be held completely or partially at fault for the incident.
How Distracted Driving Impacts Liability in a Car Accident
As alluded to, if you are deemed to have been driving negligent then you are likely to be found partially or completely at fault for the accident, meaning liability will be on you. However, a victim of a car accident still has a burden of proof and must show that you indeed was distracted at the time of the collision. This can be done through phone records, eyewitness testimony, and vehicle technology data though.
It’s entirely possible that the fault is not completely on you, though. For example, if you looked down to check your phone when you had a green light but they were making an unprotected left turn and thought they could shoot the gap, then they likely share some fault.
This is a concept known as comparative negligence, where the fault is shared when both drivers act negligently. The damages awarded to the injured party will then be reduced by their amount of negligence. For example, if they sue you for $100,000 but are 30% at fault, they will only receive $70,000.
Penalties for Distracted Driving and The Legal Consequences
Given just how serious and widespread distracted driving is, especially in the modern age of technology, there are significant legal penalties for drivers who are found to be at fault.
The most common are fines and traffic citations for violating the laws surrounding distracted driving. In cases of severe injury or even death, though, potential criminal charges such as reckless driving or vehicular manslaughter could be levied against you or another driver.
Beyond just the legal implications, your insurance coverage may also be affected by a charge related to distracted driving with your rates going up. Even if the case doesn’t go to court, your insurance company may deny a claim or reduce compensation if you were at fault for a distracted driving incident which can leave you on the hook for up to tens of thousands of dollars if not more.
The importance of staying focused behind the wheel
As mentioned, distracted driving can significantly impact both the driver’s liability and the victim’s ability to seek justice. It’s important to always get behind the wheel without distractions in order to protect your and everyone else’s safety above all else.
There are serious legal consequences that may follow if you are found to be at fault for the accident due to distracted driving, so always prioritize safety and remain attentive when you get behind the wheel.
If you do happen to be involved in an accident and believe distracted driving is the reason for why, contact an accredited personal injury attorney who can help you navigate the facts of the case and what you should do next.