How many times have you been driving down a street in your town, or on the highway heading home, and seen someone lazily drifting in their lane, or going too slowly? Maybe you’ve been stuck at a red light behind a car that just sits there long after the light turns green. Countless others have stories of being rear-ended during minimal traffic, or have found themselves in worse accidents, such as head-on collisions, or T-bone accidents in Mississippi. One of the biggest causes of these annoyances and Mississippi car accidents is distracted driving, more often than not, caused by texting while driving.
Next time you’re out driving around, see how many drivers you count staring down at their phones, or even worse, taking selfies/videos while they’re driving. We live in a hyper-connected world where our brains get immediate dopamine doses whenever we hop on social media to see how many likes we’ve gotten, how many people have watched our stories, or just to see the newest meme before scrolling to find a top-down view of a trendy foodie recipe. The sad reality is that people can’t seem to disconnect from their profiles, emails, and messages while they’re operating a multi-ton moving vehicle that can seriously injure others as well as the driver.
Dangers of Texting while Driving
When drivers don’t pay attention, it’s easy to bump into another car, or depending on their speed, crash into another car and cause serious damage. A few miles-per-hour difference can mean the difference between a stiff neck and a concussion. A few inches difference in the initial strike can be the difference between some bruises and fractures. All of it is easily avoidable by putting phones down while driving, but people can be too self-absorbed and selfish to truly think about their actions far enough in advance.
As a means to curb texting while driving and subsequent accidents, Mississippi implemented fines for texting while driving. First time offenders are served with a $100 fine for reading or writing text messages as well as posting to social media while driving. Further offenses see the penalty rise in cost. Driver’s education courses impart the dangers of distracted driving, particularly texting while driving, to ideally mitigate younger drivers from making the mistake. However, despite education and penalties, texting while driving stands as one of the main causes of car accidents and the catalyst for people hiring Mississippi car accident lawyers to assist them in legal proceedings.
Call an Attorney today about Texting and Driving Accidents
Countless victims have contacted Mississippi car accident attorneys to seek damages for their injuries including concussions, traumatic brain injuries in particularly bad crashes, lacerations, and fractures. In some cases, family and loved ones have had to seek damages on behalf of the deceased, filing for wrongful death in Mississippi. By texting while driving, you drive-up the risk of causing these injuries to yourself and others, leading to pain and suffering for all involved.
It’s easy to not text and drive, just put your phone down and only use your phone when you’re pulled off to the side of the road and have stopped (not when you’re just sitting at a stoplight). However, just because you know not to text and drive and won’t do it, doesn’t mean that every else on the road won’t act selfishly and just stop. That’s why we’re here to help you if y, or a loved one, have been involved in an accident and you suspect texting while driving may be a cause. Call us now to speak to an experienced Mississippi car accident lawyer to go over the details of your case and learn how we can help protect your rights and earn you the financial compensation you may be entitled to.
