Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Texting

Help Tony Save Lives and Keep America’s Roads Safer.

Jeffrey Meldon — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:47:53 GMT

More of us do it every day than we’d like to admit. We know we shouldn’t; we’ve heard it’s dangerous but, we still do it. Meanwhile, one man is out to spread the word, town by town, and encourage us all to put the cell phone down while we drive. As an accident attorney and father, I applaud his efforts and want to help spread Tony's message. Here is his story:

Tony Anshutz, a former Los Angeles police officer (who now teaches SCUBA diving in Cozumel, Mexico,) is riding his motorcycle 16,000 miles in an attempt to raise awareness about the dangers associated with cell phone use while behind the wheel.

Tony became involved in the cause after meeting Dave Teater whose 12-year-old son was killed in a collision involving a driver using a cell phone. Tony is calling his adventure “Ride the Americas”, he set off on August 17 and will be stopping in small and big cities throughout North America. His goal is to promote the National Safety Council’s initiative to ban all cell phone use nationwide while driving.

Using a cell phone or smart phone while driving, in any capacity, is dangerous, and the task falls to people to self-police. Studies have shown that a driver’s level of distraction while talking on a cell phone can rival that of a person who is intoxicated. Furthermore, when we text and drive, the problem is even worse because now our eyes are not even on the road. Cell phone use while driving is the cause of 636,000 crashes and 2600 deaths annually.

Tony will be sharing stories and statistics about cell phone use including the fact that drivers using cell phones are 4 times more likely than other drives to be in a crash. Tony does not think that technology itself or cell phones in general are bad or dangerous but he says “as we become dependent on it, we must also adapt our behavior to its dangers.”

While Tony is traveling the roads of North America, he will be uploading images and logging his progress. To follow Tony’s progress as he rides across the Americas, visit http://www.ridetheamericas.com/ or join his Facebook group.

The websites include action items you can take to promote safety and the cell phone ban initiative through your own behavior, urging others to change or even by making a donation. Help Tony save lives and keep America’s roads safer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Texting while driving… it should be illegal in Florida!

Jeffrey Meldon — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:57:41 GMT

Yet another study has been released showing that texting while driving is dangerous! I say, how many studies do we need to prove the obvious and for this dangerous activity to become illegal in Florida?

This latest and startling study was done by mounting a video camera inside the cab of long-haul semi trucks and was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, one of the world’s largest vehicle safety research organizations. According to Rich Hanowski, the overseer of the project, “texting is in its own universe of risk,” when you compare it to the risk of other multitasking activities that are available to drivers of all kinds while behind the wheel.

The Institute concluded that texting while driving a car, pick-up, or any vehicle, even a semi, increases your risk of causing or being in an accident by 23 times! The study also found that typically drivers when texting, sending or receiving, take their eyes off the road for 5 seconds, which is enough time to go the length of a football field, and then some, when traveling at average highway speeds.

Tom Dingus, director of the Institute, was quoted saying that the study’s message was clear: “You should never do this,” he said of texting while driving. “It should be illegal.”

Yet, it remains a legal activity in the state of Florida; all drivers, even bus drivers with a bus full of school children, and tractor-trailer drivers hauling a double load down I-75, can text at will and still be within the law.

The Florida Legislature had a chance to do something about it this year with several proposed bills that would have changed the law, but failed to, despite the National Safety Council (the Group that got us to buckle up and not drive after drinking) calling for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving.

How many studies and deaths will it take for the Florida Legislature to do something about this proven deadly driving distraction and join the ranks of 14 other states plus DC that have a ban on texting while driving?

Some argue, and understandably so, even if Florida should step up to the plate and make our roadways safer by banning texting while driving, that it would be nearly impossible to enforce and may even make the problem worse, as drivers hide their texting activity well below the line of vision of law enforcement officers, making detection nearly impossible and at the same time, driving while texting even more unsafe.

However, as an accident attorney, I believe making texting illegal while driving is a start and a needed statement and law that Floridians deserve from their lawmakers in Tallahassee.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

A multitasker’s admission of guilt… Rehab?...sign me up!

Jeffrey Meldon — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:41:27 GMT

What is all the buzz about multitasking while driving? I do it and it is even legal, at least in Florida!

I am a multitasking king; it is a gift of mine. I can do a quick 3 miles on the treadmill while reading the NY Times on my Kindle, talking on my cell phone, responding to emails on my Blackberry, watching the news on TV, talking to the person next to me, and drinking water all at the same time, and I haven’t injured myself or anyone else.

I am an experienced driver and can drive while looking up a phone number on my Blackberry and then chat away as I maneuver through traffic, (it is a hands-free set up, so hey!), I can even send a quick message, and I have never caused an accident... so, what is the problem with multitasking while driving? I can do it.

The answer is, plenty is wrong with driving and multitasking! In fact, more and more research is proving it to be a dangerous activity that is plaguing our society today.

We know the risks, yet we continue to do it, even me. Even being an accident attorney for over 30 years and:

knowing the risks and dangers of distracted driving, of which cell phone use is the #1 culprit,
having blogged about the risks of chatting and texting for many months now,
being aware of the news of accidents a caused by this dangerous activity,
even having represented clients that have been injured by distracted drivers,

Yet, I still do it… I admit it, I am guilty!

Obviously, we all want to believe that we can do it all; multitask away and also be a safe driver on the road, but, it is just not the case! Here are the facts:

Driving while celling (hand-held or hands-free) is as dangerous as driving drunk,
Cell chatting drivers are 4 to 5 times more likely to cause an accident,
Texting raises a driver’s crash risk by 23 times!

It really does not take a Zen Master to know how important it is to be in the moment when you drive, to not be distracted, but to just drive. We all know driving is a potentially dangerous activity that requires our full attention and doing so might save a life that could be our own or one of a loved one, yet most of us still don’t do it, and we drive distracted, ignoring the basic rules of driving:

Both hands on the wheel,
Both eyes on the road and
Our full attention and mind on the road.

Facts are Facts; we all have to admit it, including me, multitasking while driving is a dangerous risky undertaking, no matter our age, experience or how good we are at it in other areas of our life.

The reality is that we need to turn off the cell while driving and give the road our full attention that it requires and save multitasking for the treadmill, before we get on the road, at a rest stop, or when we reach our destination.

Maybe there needs to be a Rehab course for driving multitaskers? If so, sign me up!

For more information on this important topic:

Bad news for Floridians on the road, texting and celling behind the wheel remains legal

Driving Distractions 101

Today Show Video; Texting While Driving Caught on Tape

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Text Messaging: Armed and Dangerous

Jeffrey Meldon — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:35:35 GMT

Imagine driving down the road. In your car, you not only have yourself, but your young child, your spouse, or your friend. You know you’re a safe driver and you take all the precautions. But, you’re also trusting everyone else on the road to do the same. You expect them to return the favor. When you have your hands religiously at 10 and 2, you want the driver behind you, in front of you, and on either side of you to do the same thing. What if they’re texting? Diligently composing a message of genius to their friend and laughing at the new inside joke they just created? Their hands aren’t even on the wheel, let alone at 10 and 2. And their eyes? On their phone.

Texting while driving is the ultimate multitask. We have to think about what we’re going to write, the best way to say it, and the best way to abbreviate it so that it fits into the character limit on our cell phones. And using both hands to gingerly type out our thoughtful messages means only one thing: there are no hands on the wheel and our eyes and focus are not on the road.

Texting while driving has become a hot topic with both drivers and legislatures around the country. Distracted drivers lead to accidents and texting heightens distraction to a new level. Two years ago, texting was relatively obsolete. And although cell phone usage while driving has been an issue for quite some time, the texting distraction is relatively new. However, its newness does not lessen its severity.

This month, the legislature in Florida is focusing their efforts on a bill, headed up by Republican Doug Holder of Sarasota that would ban the use of text messaging while driving, which has been cited as an increased and dangerous risk to public safety on the road. As an accident attorney based in Gainesville, Florida, I applaud the Florida Legislature and Mr. Holder for their efforts towards increased public safety for all on or near the roads in Florida.

The bill will not be the first of its kind. A similar bill recently passed in the Alabama House, supported by Republican Jim McClendon, and joins seven other states, including the District of Columbia, that have bans on text messaging while driving. The numerous bills around the nation indicate a trend toward heightened awareness of the dangers surrounding texting while driving.

Statistics show that general cell phone usage, which includes texting messaging while behind the wheel, accounts for 636,000 car accidents per year nationwide, and even amounts to about 2,600 deaths. An accident in Canandaigua, New York, which led to the deaths of five high school teens, is thought to be the result of the driver texting while driving. The ban on text messaging would be an effort by legislatures to reduce these tragedies.

The National Safety Commission, which houses a variety of safety issues, including discussions on the dangers of texting. The message is clear: don’t text and drive!

As smart drivers, we wouldn’t dream of drinking and driving and should similarly avoid other distractions that take our focus, our hands, and our minds away from the road and the safety of ourselves and others.

For more information on this important topic:

Driving and Texting; A Combination Deadlier Than Drinking and Driving, Hopefully, Will Become Illegal Soon In Florida.

http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com/alerts/2009/02/new-florida-bill-aims-to-ban-texting.php

For information on Preventing an Auto Accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon