Distracted driving accounts for 80 percent of collisions and near-crashes and includes things like talking on a cell phone, texting, tending to pets and eating. Thirty-four states have banned texting while driving, and 10 states have banned using hand-held cell phones while driving. However, some local areas such as Oak Park, Illinois (IL) have gone even further by banning not only using a hand-held cell phone, but also grooming and eating while driving. Chicago has even started targeting bicyclist in a proposed bill that would ticket riders who were found to be texting while pedaling. The U.S. Congress has also considered legislation to crack down on distracted driving.
These new bans on eating and grooming may be the first of their kind, but they are unlikely to be the last. Oak Park Trustee Colette Lueck has called these ordinances a necessary measure for protecting people.
As a personal injury lawyer who has practiced in Virginia (VA) for 23 years, handling mostly automobile accident cases, I have seen and heard it all. Some drivers will admit that they "just looked down for a second." Others will deny they took their eyes off the road, after the insurance defense lawyer has prepared them, and say "I do not know why I did not see the car" they ran into. Whatever the excuses, too many motorists fail to realize that a vehicle going 35 mph travels 51 feet a second, so every lapse counts. Keeping a proper lookout means put down the phone and the cheeseburger.
OEA
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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