Just after midnight on Oct. 10, a NYC firefighter made his way home through Bensonhurst after a day spent raising money for a disabled Iraq War veteran.
Prosecutors say it was then that the 39-year-old – who they allege was texting and speeding in court papers filed Dec. 21 – struck a 25-year-old pedestrian and left him to die in a Brooklyn intersection, the New York Times reports. The driver has been indicted on charges that include texting while driving, reckless driving and criminally-negligent homicide. He pled not guilty, posted bail and was released. If convicted he faces up to seven years in prison.
As New York City Car Accident Attorney Nicholas Rose has noted in an earlier post to his New York Injury Lawyer Blog, in 2009 distracted driving claimed nearly 5,500 lives and left another 500,000 injured. In New York alone, almost 600 car accidents in 2009 were linked to drivers distracted by their cell phones.
This despite the fact of laws aimed at preventing drivers from talking on a phone or texting while driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that distracted driving isn’t just limited to drivers on the phone and can be visual, manual or cognitive. With that said, the NHTSA does report that cell phone use is one of the “most commonly recognized distractions”. That despite the increasing proof of potentially deadly (and costly) consequences, the number of drivers using a cell phone while behind the wheel continues to increase at an exponential rate.
In fact, drivers using a cell phone or other personal electronic device while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a serious injury car accident than there device-less fellow drivers. And considering that nearly 90 percent of Americans (more than 275 million people) have cell phone subscriptions and most of them – 77 percent – admit to chatting while driving, the real surprise is that the number of fatal and injury car accidents isn’t higher.
According to the NHTSA, New York has implemented a primary law that bans all drivers from using hand-held devices or texting while driving. (A “primary” law is one that permits a law enforcement officer to stop and ticket a driver singularly for the offenses of being caught while texting or using a hand-held device.) New York City drivers face similar restrictions. Too often, drivers simply ignore them.
We would all be wise, then, to add to their list of New Year’s resolutions a self-imposed ban on sending that text or answering their cell phone while driving. As much as dropping those extra pounds by hitting the gym and eating right, it’s one resolution that may end up saving a life.
New York City personal injury lawyer Nicholas Rose would like you to know our office is available for a free and confidential consultation if you have been injured in a New York car accident. To schedule an appointment, call 1-877-313-ROSE (7673). Nicholas Rose represents accident victims throughout the New York City area, including Long Island, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.
