We often talk about automobile accidents but over the years as I have spoken with clients and usually found out that they weren’t really involved in an automobile “accident” but in fact were injured because another driver was careless, perhaps reckless, often distracted and that it wasn’t an “accident” at all. In short it was avoidable and the injured person has every right to be upset with the offending driver. I, like most personal injury attorneys, don’t take cases and certainly don’t file lawsuits when it was an avoidable “accident”.
Very few motor vehicle collisions are accidents. An accident is when something can’t be avoided. It happens when something completely unforeseen or unexpected occurs. If the car changes lanes and crashes into a motorcycle in the next lane, it isn’t an “accident”, it is careless driving, it is negligent driving. The driver of the car simply didn’t look to see if there was a motorcycle in the next lane.
Almost every car crash is because the driver was on their cell phone, or talking to a passenger and not paying attention, or intoxicated, or was speeding and that behavior is not accidental. That behavior is careless and in the drivers do it are doing it on purpose and they make decisions to allow their attention to be distracted. Many drivers who choose to drive distracted, also speed which increases the chances of the distraction resulting in a collision. At 55 mph car travels about 100 yards in less than five seconds. But even more importantly than traveling in a straight line for 100 yards, that’s distracted driver can swerve or where the car can drift to the left or right, clip a curb, hit a pedestrian or bicyclist on the shoulder or wait about a motorcycle driving the next lane. The time it takes to move 6 feet to the right 55 mph can be one second or less.
Speed makes distraction worse. Don’t speed. Don’t drive distracted.
If you want to do something about it, speak up when you are a passenger and driver of your car is driving that way. If you are a teen and the way your parents drive frightens you, speak up. You don’t have to yell at them or even complain. Tell the driver that you care for them and that you don’t want them to get hurt. Tell them that you are afraid and that you don’t want to get hurt. Tell them that you don’t want anyone to get hurt and that includes all of the other people on the road, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists. Check out www.EndDD.org and the great safety and prevention site 60 for Safety for distracted driving resources and if you want a presentation at your school, club or company, contact Wayne Parsons.
Please watch the Casey Feldman story. It will change the way you drive:
A resident of Honolulu, Hawaii, Wayne Parsons is an Injury Attorney that has dedicate his life to improving the delivery of justice to the people of his community and throughout the United States. He is driven to make sure that the wrongful, careless or negligent behavior that caused his clients' injury or loss does not happen to others.
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