Distracted Driving, Punitive Damages and(texting or phoning)

It does not reach headline news flashes and that is very sad. Nine times 365 and that is how many people to date die of Distracted Driving = a minimum of 3385 deaths per year due to distracted driving and that is barely accurate as few states keep records to date. Over 365,000 people are injured a year by distracted driving. And that also is low in count because statistics are not kept.

We hope you hate war -- The number of American troops who have died fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan totaled 6,802 as of April 2014. And that is over 10 years. But your babies die at home at a higher rate and you keep talking on your cell phone while driving. (Of course those numbers are low and probably average about 1,500 a year for combat troops about half of distracted driving deaths)

This is from the CDC:

“”Each day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.1 Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.

There are three main types of distraction:

• Visual: taking your eyes off the road;
• Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and
• Cognitive: taking your mind off of driving.2

Distracted driving activities include things like using a cell phone, texting, and eating. Using in-vehicle technologies (such as navigation systems) can also be sources of distraction. While any of these distractions can endanger the driver and others, texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.””

http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/index.html

In most the United States punitive damages are awarded in court by a finding of a jury of peers. The peers/jury must find either a completely malicious intent OR such a callous disregard for the well being of others that the conduct accused is just plain contemptuous. Disgusting and vile is really what we are looking for to get the point across.

Is texting or talking on the phone disgusting and vile? Look at the statistics and decide. More deaths caused by it than by the Taliban and Jihadists combined against our military? We call that disgusting and vile. Do you think it is okay? Just because you can do it so well and it is convenient. Guess what you can probably drive drunk better than distracted. We kill and injure more Americans each year through distracted than were killed or injured on 9/11.

Punitive damages awarded in such matters means that the distracted driver who causes injury will be penalized and made to pay surviving victims extra money. It is handled on a case by case basis. It could take everything the distracted driver has and will have or something less but enough to penalize and compensate.

What we need are judges who are informed enough to let the matter be resolved by a trial and a jury.

The question is basically this: Are we so entitled to use our phones at the risk to others that the loss of life and lives destroyed is just not significant enough to call the use of phones while driving heinous. I vote that it is disgusting and vile.

If a parent thinks driving is quality time with their children they are sick individuals. Driving is about getting them in a loaded weapon safely from one point to another. Three thousand pounds of a projectile going over 30 mph is serious business. Are you going to be a careless murderer or one fully intent on not giving a good damn about others. If you send a minimal text going 55 mph you go 100 yards blindfolded.

I am a trained emergency driver. I have driven thousands of miles in big rigs and patrol vehicles and I am an extremely adept multitasker. I would no more text while driving than load a gun and point it at your head, it is ridiculous and contemptuous and vile. If you do it without my training, I hate you. You endanger my wife and child. If you do it with my training you are a jackass and need your license revoked.

Here is a true attitude of a man being sued for a rear end accident that occurred while he was using his phone. The man ran head on into a Prius and with such speed and force that it collapsed all the way to the drivers compartment.

Were you using a cellular device at the time of the incident?: Yes

Were you distracted?: No

So did you run into the Prius on purpose?: No

So why did you run into the Prius?: I dunno!

That is what I call a callous disregard for other people.

In that particular case that person was probably on an errand for his employer (corporate boss) and was probably on corporate business. How much should the employer who is a multi-multi-million dollar company probably pay in punitive damages?

The bottom line folks is that you should be held accountable. You think like you are super better than the 2500 plus ordinary folks that kill 3500 other folks a year and that you can use your phone but are such a badass driver that you can do both. Well I got news for you. You are not that cool and your conduct endangers lives of children and children not yet born, and dads and moms. Please knock it off and drive right.

Last night a pregnant mother of two and faithful wife lost her life to a texting 24 year old. The unborn baby died on scene, one child died in the hospital and the other will make it alive without one leg. The 24 year old is just fine and his parents picked him up but he will face criminal charges and do some time for vehicular manslaughter. Which Victim Do You Want to Be?

Bless Verizon, for how could they be at fault? In fact they lobby so that you will use your phone while driving. Just look into it and you will find laws against phone use and driving are opposed by the industry that makes money from the use of phones.

This article was written by Eric Dierker. I reserve all rights to this article and desire no duplication without attribution. On the other hand feel free to share the content just let folks know where it came from. Copying it and claiming it as your own would be stupid and subject you to my legal harassment of you. Besides if someone asked you what it meant you would not know so yes it is copyright protected as original work by me. Just leave a comment to ask to use it elsewhere and please share it.