What are the Four Types of Distracted Driving?
Many people multitask their way through their days. So, they believe they can do the same thing behind the wheel. However, there’s a big difference between multitasking behind a desk or at a kitchen table and multitasking on the road while driving a two-ton automobile. At a minimum, the duty of reasonable care requires motorists to put distractions aside and focus on driving.
If drivers breach their duty of care and that breach substantially causes injury, a Carlsbad personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation for victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. This compensation enables victims to pay accident-related bills and move forward with their lives.
Visual
Visual distraction is anything that takes a driver’s eyes off the road. A GPS navigation device is probably the best example. Drivers cannot simultaneously watch the road and a device’s screen.
Hand-held devices are visually distracting, and so are hands-free devices. Diverted attention is just one of the risks. Hands-free mounts give drivers a false sense of security, prompting them to take unnecessary risks behind the wheel.
Furthermore, studies show a significant lag time, perhaps eight or ten seconds, between the moment a driver looks away from a screen and the moment the driver re-engages with the road.
Largely for these reasons, using a hands-free speakerphone or other device mount is more dangerous than driving drunk.
Manual
A hand-held device is also manually distracting. This use forces a driver to take at least one hand off the wheel. Today’s cars and trucks are so large and so fast that drivers must keep two hands on the wheel at all times to control them or maneuver them in an emergency.
Your father’s Chevy was light and slow compared to today’s models. Furthermore, your father’s Chevy was less maneuverable and always pointed straight ahead. Controlling modern cars and trucks is no easy task, especially since steering mechanisms have advanced so much.
Operational efficiency has advanced, but safety innovations lag behind, to many auto manufacturers, are little more than marketing tools. Therefore, instead of decreasing, the number of people seriously injured or killed on California roads has increased.
Cognitive
Drivers must also keep their minds on the road and avoid cognitive distraction. This form of distraction may be the most difficult kind of distraction for a Carlsbad personal injury lawyer to prove. No one can see inside another person’s mind.
Statements made in the wake of an accident often provide the necessary proof. For some reason, many tortfeasors (negligent drivers) believe that cognitive distraction is an excuse. So, they often tell witnesses or emergency responders that they were daydreaming instead of watching the road.
Moreover, the four kinds of distraction often overlap. Once again, a cellphone is a good example. These gadgets are cognitively distracting, even if the phone is sitting on the seat.
Auditory
Loud noises, such as loud stereos, also distract motorists. Usually, an attorney backtracks to prove audio distraction. If a witness saw Paul blaring his stereo a few blocks away from the accident scene, it’s more likely than not that he was doing the same thing moments before the crash.
More likely than not (a preponderance of the evidence) is the standard of proof in civil court. Therefore, a little evidence usually goes a long way.
Work With a Tough-Minded San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Carlsbad, contact the Pursley Law Firm. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.
