Orlando Distracted Driving Accidents

Many collisions in Florida are caused by drivers who aren’t paying attention to the road. These distracted drivers can cause serious injuries or deaths. They should be held fully accountable for their poor judgment.

Orlando car accident attorney, Frank M. Eidson, P.A., knows how devastating it is to suffer losses because someone could not be bothered to pay enough attention while driving. If you or someone close to you has been harmed by a distracted driver, we can use our decades of legal experience to help you pursue a claim for compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress or wrongful death.

Our firm serves clients and personal injury cases throughout Central Florida, including Winter Park and Orlando. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Why Do Distracted Driving Accidents Occur in Florida?

You can take legal action against a distracted driver if you can prove that the driver’s negligence or recklessness directly caused your collision. You can prove this by showing that the motorist was unreasonably careless (in a way no normal driver would be) or by showing that safety rules were broken.

Reasonable drivers are expected to pay attention behind the wheel. It is negligent to allow distractions to take one’s attention away from safely operating a car. The most common driver distractions that we have seen at Frank M. Eidson, P.A., include:

• Texting while driving – Drivers are 23 times more likely to become involved in an auto accident when texting while behind the wheel, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found in one study.

• Talking on cell phones – Another VTTI study discovered that using hands-free devices to talk on the phone while driving is as dangerous as using a hand-held device. Even though cell phone use is a serious problem among drivers of all ages, studies that show it poses a particular risk among teens.

• Using in-vehicle controls – Adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player can cause a car accident. Like texting or talking on a cell phone behind the wheel, these actions take the driver’s hands off the wheel and the driver’s eyes and mind off the road.

• Eating and drinking – Some studies have found that as many as 80 percent of car accidents involve a driver who is eating or drinking when the collision happens.

• Talking to passengers – Teen drivers are at the greatest risk of allowing conversations with passengers to get in the way of safe driving. The more teens that are in a vehicle, the greater the chance of a wreck. This is why some state’s graduated licensing programs limit the number of passengers who can be in a car with new drivers.

• Dealing with unrestrained pets – An estimated 30,000 accidents each year are caused by drivers trying to deal with unrestrained animals in their car, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The bottom line is that any time a driver focuses on something other than the road, that driver is taking a risk and could potentially be held responsible for the results.

Establishing a Distracted Driving Accident Claim

To prove the other driver was negligent and thus liable for your losses in a car accident, you can do one of two things:

• Show that no reasonable driver would have acted the way this motorist did, or
• Show that a safety rule was broken by the driver.

Proving that a safety rule was violated creates a presumption that the other motorist was unreasonably careless and is responsible for your losses.

In Florida, a texting and driving ban went into effect on October 1, 2013. Because of this texting ban, it has become easier to prove a texting driver was negligent.

To provide evidence of texting while driving or other types of distracted driving, you can turn to:

• Police reports from the accident scene
• Police citations (such as a ticket for texting while driving)
• Subpoenaed phone records showing a call or text was taking place at the time of the accident or shortly before impact
• Witness statements
• Testimony from accident reconstruction experts.

An experienced car accident attorney can help you to collect and present the evidence you need to make the strongest case possible for compensation.

Contact an Orlando Distracted Driving Accident Attorney

At Frank M. Eidson, P.A. we have assisted auto accident victims and their families in Central Florida since 1989. We can help you to establish whether your car crash was caused by a distracted driver and pursue just compensation for your losses.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can represent you after your distracted driving collision.

Sources / More Information

• Wireless Communications Devices; Prohibition, § 316.305, Fla. Stat. (2013)
• Get the Facts, Distraction.gov
• Eating While Driving Causes 80% of All Car Accidents, Study Shows, New York Daily News
• Dogs in Cars Can Cause Risky Behavior Behind the Wheel, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals