Driving Distractions Increase Risk Posed by Inexperienced Teen Drivers

While public awareness campaigns, anti-cell phone laws and stepped up enforcement efforts have reduced the frequency of distracted driving accidents, inattentive driving remains one of the leading causes of motor vehicle-related fatalities. While cell phones pose the most common form of driving distraction, drivers may also divide their attention between driving and eating, talking to passengers, adjusting a car stereo, reaching for objects in a vehicle and a multitude of other distractions.

Young drivers (e.g. drivers under 21) who attempt to multi-task can cause collisions resulting in devastating consequences. A 20-year-old Georgia man tragically died recently when he attempted to negotiate a left turn while using a cell phone. His vehicle departed the roadway when he steered hard to regain control of the vehicle and drove over the other shoulder and into a ditch. The car collided with a tree and rolled over. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt when the vehicle overturned.

Distracted driving is dangerous for drivers at any age, but it poses a particular hazard for teen motorists and other drivers under 21. Three-quarters of those between the ages of 12-17 own mobile phones and two-thirds use their phones to send and receive text messages according to research conducted by the Pew Research Center for the federal government. The research center provides other statistics that reveal the prevalence of teen distracted driving:

• 52 percent of teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 17 admit talking on a mobile phone when driving.
• Almost half of all kids ages 12 to17 indicate traveling in a car with a teen driver who was texting.
• Forty percent of kids 12 to 17 say they have been in a car when a teen used a cell phone in a manner that put vehicle occupants in danger

Teen drivers generally lack the experience behind the wheel of older drivers which contributes to high teen accident fatality rates. This inexperience and tendency to engage in higher risk behavior is evidenced by higher insurance rates for teen drivers.

When underage drivers cause serious car accidents in Atlanta while using a mobile phone, and a serious injury is involved, an investigation will typically be conducted that analyzes cell phone activity. Our car accident lawyers often use discovery tools to obtain mobile phone records that reflect precise times of calling and texting activities by teen drivers. When a teen driver causes a car accident because of inattention, records that indicate a driver was talking, sending texts or receiving texts immediately prior to a collision may be used to explain driver errors.

Our Georgia teen driver accident attorneys at Montlick and Associates are available to provide effective legal representation to clients throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.