When someone mentions distracted driving, it doesn’t take long for our minds to picture someone driving down the road with a cellphone in their hands talking or texting or even trying to call a number. While cellphones are a huge distraction, so is driving with a cup of liquid, while you are on your way to work or changing the GPS address to go a different route. Basically, distracted driving is anything that will take your mental focus and/or your eyes away from the road. This reduces alertness and the ability to drive and react. This type of driving has been the death of so many people on the road, both the driver who caused the accident and the innocent victims that they run into.
Effects of distracted driving
It really does take only one second for things to go wrong; a quick glance at your cellphone when it rings, a passenger in the back that may be talking or something. While you are distracted, you are most likely still maintaining your speed of the vehicle but now, you are unaware of any potential hazards in the way, such as a truck that has stopped abruptly in front of you just a few yards away. When you are distracted, the effects of that distraction include:
• A decrease in reaction time – you are no longer able to stop immediately because you simply don’t see the hazard.
• Impaired judgment – you are unable to make rash decisions because there is no other way to see what lies ahead unless you are actually paying attention
• Causing injury to yourself, your passengers, and others who are in your path.
You may be great at multitasking at work but its best that you don’t test this skill out when you are driving, no matter how good you think you might be. Distracted driving is never good and when you combine this with a large machine that is going down the road at top speed, the consequences are never good.
Penalties for distracted driving
If you get distracted and cause an accident, or get seen by the police texting on your phone, you may be given a ticket that comes with a large fine, sometimes it can be as much as $50,000 for distracted driving. You don’t want to pay a fine or cause injury to yourself or anyone else.
Trusted advice and representation
If you have been involved in an accident involving a distracted driver and received injuries because of this type of negligence, you will want to hire an injury lawyer in Vaughan that has specialized in this type of claim. You want to build a case against them so that you can receive compensation for your injuries and your suffering.