This past week the National Transportation Safety Boardrecommended prohibiting all drivers from using portable electronic devices – like cell phones – while they’re driving. This proposal comes after a hearing involving a Missouri car accident that killed two people and injured 38. Investigations suggest that the initial accident was caused by a pick-up driver who had sent 11 text messages in the 11 minutes immediately before the crash. The nineteen-year-old driver of the pickup ran into the back of a tractor-trailer that had slowed down through a construction zone. After the pickup ran into the big rig, it was then rear-ended by one school bus, which was then rear ended by another school bus. The driver of the pick-up truck and a student sitting on the last row of the first bus died in the crash.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident where distracted driving may have played a part, it is important to speak to an experienced Roseville personal injury lawyer to answer your personal injury questions and determine your next steps.

The senseless loss of life has prompted the NTSB to call for a ban on all cell phone use. Although California has banned texting while driving and only allows hands free cell phone usage – California drivers continue to disregard state law. Distracted driving continues to cause driving accidents in California and throughout the United States. In fact, the NHTSA reports that last year, over 3000 traffic deaths were blamed on distracted driving, and according to a survey released last week, nearly 50% of drivers younger than 25-years-old text while driving.

One member of the safety board states, “This is becoming the new DUI…It’s becoming an epidemic.”

Currently 35 states ban text messages for all drivers, and 9 states prohibit drivers handheld from using handheld cell phones. In 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted a ban prohibiting commercial drivers from texting while driving buses and cars.

As a car accident lawyer, I see far too many people injured as the result of distracted driving and support efforts to reduce the number of personal injury accidents that occur as the result of cell phone use.

For more information or if you or a loved on has been injured in a car accident as the result of distracted driving contact the dedicated Roseville accident lawyer and personal injury lawyer at Sette Law Office for an immediate, free consultation.