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July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month. Founded by author Jacqueline Whitmore in 2002, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month was designed to make cell phone users more polite about use of the devices. National Cell Phone Courtesy Month is intended to raise awareness about the importance of not yelling into cell phones in public and not using cell phones in inappropriate public areas. However, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month can also be used to raise awareness about the dangers of cell phones use.

Only eleven states currently do not have bans on cell phone use and texting while driving, and Florida is one of these states with no prohibitions about the use of cell phones behind the wheel. While legislators have tried to pass laws banning cell phone use by drivers in recent years, however, these bills have not passed into law. In 2011, Governor Rick Scott vetoed proposed legislation which would have mandated that the Florida Division of Motor Vehicles teach drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. Municipalities and communities also cannot pass their own distracted driving laws under current Florida laws. As a result, in Florida distracted driving is not legislated and it is up to individual drivers to make the right choice to drive undistracted.

There are studies which have concluded that driving distracted can lead to accidents in the same way that drinking and driving can lead to Hollywood drunk driving accidents. In fact, the response times for distracted drivers and drunk drivers is similar, according to researchers, which is one reason why distracted drivers are more at risk for a Hollywood car accident.

Despite the wide-spread media attention about the dangers of distracted driving and despite the research, many drivers continue to drive distracted. One possible reason is that many distractions have become so commonplace that many drivers do not see the danger. Many professionals are used to speaking on a cell phone all day, so they simply carry on using their mobile devices while in the car. Many cars currently made also include touch screens, mobile device docks, and other features which can pose a distraction. In addition, many cars include technology to allow hands-free talking and dialing, so that drivers can continue to use their cell phones without having to use their hands. Unfortunately, some studies have suggested that hands-free devices are also distracting and can also lead to Hollywood traffic accidents since they still take the driver’s attention from the road.

Since it is well documented that distracted driving is dangerous and since there are no laws in Florida to prevent it, fashioning distracted driving as an issue of polite driving may make sense. In many cases, distracted driving is dangerous because it can lead to a driver cutting someone off, for example. Preventing distracted driving not only ensures that drivers are more polite on the roads – which in itself could prevent Hollywood car crashes caused by road rage – but also ensures that all drivers and pedestrians stay safer.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Law enforcement says that a man who had been thrown in jail on suspicion of driving while impaired hanged himself while in detention. The 55-year-old Pinehurst, North Carolina, man been booked into the McDowell County Jail around 6:00 Saturday evening and was being held on 0 bond. The man was in an isolated cell, and jail staff says that he was found hanging from a bed sheet at 8:36 p.m.

Jail staff reportedly called in a medical team and attempted CPR, but the staff was not able to resuscitate the man in jail. The County Sheriff says that the jail staff is required to check on inmates twice each hour. If a detainee is on “suicide watch,” staff is required to observe the inmate every 15 minutes. The staff says that the inmate was not on suicide watch.

The man was being held after a Marion Police officer was dispatched to an off ramp along Interstate 40. Law enforcement says that a caller reported a man slumped over the steering wheel of a pickup truck on the shoulder of the road.

The police officer took the Pinehurst man into custody around 4:30 Saturday afternoon on suspicion of DWI. Police also claim that the man had an open container of alcohol in the pickup truck.

The Marion Police say that an alcohol test showed that the man’s blood alcohol level measured at least 0.30 percent.

The County Sheriff says that the man’s death was self-inflicted. A medical examiner was called to the jail. Agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are reportedly looking into the matter.

Source: Greensboro News and Record, “Inmate hangs himself in McDowell County jail cell,” The McDowell News, June 26, 2012

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Drivers have repeatedly been told about the dangers of using cell phones and mobile devices while driving. Numerous studies have shown that distracted driving causes many Fort Lauderdale traffic accidents and public awareness campaigns have been launched in order to ensure that drivers know about the dangers. Unfortunately, many drivers in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Florida still continue to drive distracted.

When distracted driving leads to a Fort Lauderdale car accident, victims who have suffered injuries do have the right to pursue a legal case in order to recover damages for medical costs, property damage, lost income, and other expenses. In these claims, Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys often seek out all liable parties in the accident in order to ensure that the victim gets the fairest compensation possible – compensation that pays for as much of the medical care and lost income as possible.

Recently, according to news reports, some attorneys have been focusing on driver employers in these types of car accidents, since in many cases people who are involved in a car accident while speaking on the phone are speaking on a work-provided device or are doing business on the phone. In these cases, employers may be held liable.

There is already a precedent for considerable settlements in these types of cases. Coca Cola recent was ordered to pay million to a woman injured by a Coca Cola sales person who caused a car accident while talking on a cell phone. In another case, a Florida family was awarded million after a woman was killed in a car accident caused by a cell phone user. International Paper reached a settlement of .2 million with a woman who was injured after a company employee caused a car accident while speaking on a cell phone.

In many Fort Lauderdale truck accidents and car accidents caused by cell phone use, the driver may be driving a company car, may be driving on company business, may be using a company-provide cell phone, or may be using a private cell phone for company business. In any of these situations, the company may be held liable if the employee causes a car accident while speaking on the cell phone and that accident causes a death or serious injury.

While Florida is one of only a handful of states to not yet ban texting and driving, there is no doubt that drivers are aware of the dangers of distracted driving. Often-cited statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration point out that using a cell phone while driving makes drivers four times more likely to be involved in a car crash, compared with undistracted drivers.

According to some Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys, some companies are not helping the issue, encouraging employees to use cell phones on the road. Sales people, especially, may be encouraged to be always available by phone in order to take care of company business. Some companies also provide employees with cell phones and company cars but fail to emphasize the importance of turning the devices off when driving. Some companies are taking the correct steps. Government employees, for example, are not allowed to use cell phones while driving government cars and other companies have also enforced no-cell phone rules for employees driving on company business.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog