North Carolina Car Accident Attorney Blog

Whether it is a text message, an email, or GPS, many drivers are guilty of "peeking" at their phones while driving.

What if I just read a text but don't actually respond to it?
Most people likely know that it is illegal to "text" and drive, but may not know that the law also prohibits the reading of a text. The law makes it illegal to read any electronic mail or text message transmitted to or stored within the device while operating a motor vehicle. This makes "peeking" illegal, even though you might not actually be texting. Good thing for stops signs and red lights, at which you would be considered "lawfully stopped."

Though not considered a moving violation for which license points can be assessed, the penalty is a $100 fine plus court costs.

Continue reading "Are You Peeking?" »

North Carolina Highway Patrol has found that 16 year old Taylor Clark was texting when she caused a head-on collision, killing 17 year old passenger, Seth Beaver. Clark has been charged with misdemeanor death by a motor vehicle, failing to yield, and texting while driving.

It has been illegal for drivers in North Carolina under the age of 18 to use a cell phone while driving since 2006, and for any driver to text while driving since December 1, 2009, but drivers such as Clark continue to ignore this law. In fact, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has reported that even though North Carolina bans cell phone use by drivers under 18 years of age, cell phone use by this group actually increased since the law went into effect.

There are currently three bills pending in North Carolina, all aimed at curtailing the use of cell phones by all drivers. If passed, House Bill 31 will make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving, and House Bill 44, would allow use of hands free devices only. Senate Bill 36 is nearly identical to House Bill 31. If passed, these laws will go into effect on December 1, 2011.

Our experienced car accident attorneys encourage you to talk to your teen. Reinforce the rules. Sit down with your child and watch "Faces of Distracted Driving". Real stories, about real teens, who paid the ultimate price when someone was texting while driving.

An informal study conducted by State Farm Insurance found that nearly 1 out of 5 drivers use the internet while driving. Due to these alarming results, State Farm has expressed plans to conduct a more thorough study later this year.

The director of Auto Technology Research at State Farm, Cindy Garretson, believes these figures to be underestimated. According to Ms. Garretson, the survey respondents were in the mid 30's age group, but the majority of smart phone users fall into a younger demographic.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that from 2005 to 2009, traffic fatalities attributed to driver distraction increased from 10% to 16%, and that drivers under the age of 20 years old made up 16% of distracted driver fatalities. This was followed by the 20-29 year old population which made up 13% of all distracted driver fatalities. Although the 30-39 year old age group did not represent the highest number of distracted driver fatalities, it was the group that had the highest number of drivers that were distracted due to cell phone use.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, call the experience car accident lawyers at Auger & Auger for a free consultation.

In our North Carolina Car Accident Attorney Blog, we recently wrote an article, New Approach to Teach Teens Danger of Texting While Driving. In that article, we described a video that was shown to teens participating in the program, illustrating the danger of texting while driving. AAA Carolinas has announced that it will be airing the video over the upcoming July 4th holiday weekend. That video can be seen by clicking here. WARNING: This video is graphic.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol Officers acknowledge the difficulty of enforcing North Carolina's ban on texting while driving. In their efforts to teach teens the danger of texting while driving, troopers are visiting North Carolina high schools with a program designed to deter the illegal act.

The students watch a video that re-enacts a traffic fatality involving a teenage girl texting while driving, and then drifting into oncoming traffic, ultimately killing the occupants of her vehicle, as well as those in the oncoming vehicle.

Following the video, the students participate in an obstacle course while driving a golf cart. On the first run, students navigated through orange traffic cones without texting. During their second run through the course, they were instructed to read and respond to a text message while driving through the course. One of the teens hit 15 cones while texting and driving through the course.

The results were no different in White River Junction, Vermont, where troopers, following the program initated in North Carolina, ran students through a similar program. One of the Vermont students readily admitted to striking 11 cones while texting and driving.

The aim of the program, of course, is to save lives. The captain of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle enforcement found a 400% average increase in driving errors and dramatically decreased reaction time.

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that cellphone use, whether talking or texting, is responsible for 1.6 million crashes, or 28%, per year. They also report that people who text while driving are 8 to 23 times more likely to crash. These are exactly the statistics troopers hope to reduce through their "dnt txt & drv" program.

North Carolina law prohibits motorists under the age of 18 to use a cellphone, yet a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that since the enactment of this law, teen cellphone use in North Carolina has actually increased.

As part of its study, IIHS watched teen drivers as they drove away after school in the afternoon. Before the law went into effect, researchers noted that 11% of teen drivers were using their cellphones as they drove away from school. A few months after the law took effect, researchers found that almost 12% of the teen drivers were using their cellphones as they drove away from school.

Ironically, the study also found that teenagers were more likely to even be aware of the ban on cellphone use for drivers under the age of 18, than their parents. The study reported that 39% of parents knew of the ban, while 64% of their teens knew about it.

Not surprisingly, however, teenagers did not support the ban as strongly as their parents. Of the parents and teens that were aware of the ban on teen cellphone use while driving, 95% of parents supported the ban, while only 74% of teens supported it. Eighty-eight percent of the parents surveyed reported that they restricted their teenager's cell phone use, but only 66% of teens admitted that their parents restricted their cellphone use.

Despite the ban on cellphone use for teens under the age of 18, almost half of the teens surveyed by IIHS admitted that they still used their cellphone while driving.

With enforcement nearly non-existent, teens are likely to continue to use their cellphones while driving. If you have been injured due to a driver who was distracted by cellphone use, you may be entitled to recover damages. Contact our North Carolina accident and injury lawyers today for more information.

Twenty-eight states, including North Carolina, have made it illegal to text while driving, yet some drivers are still doing it, sometimes with devastating consequences.

Early on the morning of May 30, Jedadiah Allen Woodcock struck 2 North Carolina pedestrians in Wrightsville Beach. Wtinesses observed Woodcock speeding in the direction of the pedestrians, strike them, and then flee the scene.

Investigating police officers found Woodcock's cell phone on the floor of the car with a partially written text message appearing on the screen, as well as marijuana and rolling papers. Investigators say that Woodcock blew .09 in a breathalyzer test.

In addition to violating the no texting law, Allen was also charged with driving while impaired, possession of up to ½ ounce of marijuana, and two counts of aggravated felony with serious injury by vehicle. If convicted, it will be his second DWI conviction in less than a year.