Distracted driving frequently causes car accidents in Sun City and throughout Arizona.
In fact, the Arizona Department of Transportation reports that 7,284 drivers were involved in crashes during one recent year due to distraction or inattention.
Texting while driving is a form of distraction that can easily lead to crashes. Even though Arizona bans texting behind the wheel, there is no statewide ban in Arizona. This may contribute to the high number of distracted driving crashes in our state. However, many different types of distraction can lead to accidents as well. If you have been involved in a car accident through no fault of your own, it will be important to work with an attorney who will look closely at whether a driver’s inattention caused your crash. Contact Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C.. You can call or reach us through our online contact form.
We help auto accident victims and their families in Scottsdale, Sun City, Glendale, Peoria, and throughout Arizona to seek compensation for their losses.
We can provide a consultation and examine whether you may be entitled to a recovery based on another driver’s distraction at the time of your crash.
How Do You Recognize Distracted Driving?
You know distracted driving when you see it. Usually, it’s when a driver uses a hand-held or hands-free phone to do any number of activities. In a recent AT&T survey, drivers indicated that they use their smartphones while driving not only to talk with other drivers but also to:
This type of smartphone activity is particularly dangerous because, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes, it combines all three types of distraction:
- Visual (failing to keep your eyes on the road)
- Manual (failing to keep both hands on the wheel)
- Cognitive (failing to focus on the road and your driving).
Distracted driving goes beyond cell phone use. The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently analyzed 309,654 traffic stops over a roughly nine-month period. Among other types of distracted driving behavior that officers identified were:
- Using other electronic media (such as a laptop or iPad)
- Interacting with other car occupants
- Stopping for outside distractions
- Eating or drinking, especially drinking alcohol and driving
- Using on-board equipment (radio or GPS device)
- Reaching for objects
- Smoking or tobacco use
- Reading
- Grooming or putting on makeup.
Distracted driving, in this sense, can simply be defined as doing anything that keeps you from doing what you should be doing behind the wheel. The only thing a person should be doing when they are driving is driving; focusing on the road and the safe operation of their vehicle.
How Do You Know Distracted Driving Caused Your Auto Accident?
The key step in any car accident case is to conduct a thorough investigation. The process involves collecting evidence that can answer why your crash occurred and who was responsible for it. Evidence that may indicate that distracted driving was a factor in your crash could include:
 | Crash scene evidence – When there are no tire marks at the accident scene, it typically means a driver failed to use his or her brakes or other steps to avoid a crash. The reason could very well be the driver’s inattention. |
 | Black box data – Like the lack of tire marks, data from an electronic data recorder can reveal that no changes in speed or braking occurred just prior to impact. It is important to download this data before it is lost. |
 | Eyewitness statements – Passengers in the other driver’s car can describe what the driver was doing – whether it was talking on a phone, playing with a pet or simply looking at something on the side of the road. |
 | Cell phone records – These records often must be obtained by filing a subpoena. They can indicate whether a driver engaged in a phone call or read or sent a text in the moments leading up to a crash. |
 | Social media activity – Like cell phone records, a driver’s social media activity is electronic evidence that can point to distraction being a factor. |
Why Is Distracted Driving Important to Your Auto Accident Claim?
If all of the above evidence establishes that a driver was distracted at the time of your crash, and this distraction caused the crash, then it can support your claim for compensation. A distracted driver is a negligent driver. In other words, a driver who fails to pay attention to the road has failed to act as an ordinary, reasonable driver would act in a similar situation. They have a duty to pay attention to the way they’re driving. In fact, the risks of distracted driving are recognized in Phoenix by a law that prohibits texting while driving.
Your attorney from Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C. will present this evidence to the at-fault driver’s insurance company in a formal demand for fair compensation for the medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and other damages you have suffered.
If the driver’s insurance company fails to provide a settlement you find acceptable, this evidence can be presented at trial.
Contact a Sun City Distracted Driving Accident Attorney Today
The car accident lawyers of Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C. take a team approach to serving our clients and will work tirelessly on your distracted driving accident case. If you or a family member has been injured by a distracted driver, we will leverage the diverse skills and experience of our attorneys and staff to seek a full and fair financial recovery for you. It is important to start the investigation of a car accident as soon as possible. Evidence of distracted driving must be preserved before it is lost or destroyed.
Sources / More Information:
- Distracted Driving, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Smartphone Use While Driving Grows Beyond Texting to Social Media, Web Surfing, Selfies, Video Chatting, AT&T Newsroom
- Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety
- Arizona Department of Public Safety
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