When you think about distracted drivers in the 2010s, you likely automatically imagine someone texting and driving. We hear news stories on a regular basis about drivers taking selfies, posting on social media, or sending texts right before crashing their vehicles. However, distracted driving accidents happened long before smartphones existed, and this is because there are many additional distractions while driving that are not related to electronics.
Drivers can get distracted by many things. Even a simple daydream can cause a driver’s focus to stray from the road, and mental distraction leads to many accidents. A driver may also briefly take their hands off the wheel to reach for something on the passenger side and, in that second, they can crash. Perhaps the most dangerous type of distraction involves anything that takes a driver’s eyes off the road.
While you might never imagine shaving or reading a book when behind the wheel, you would be shocked at the ways that some drivers try to multitask. Many of the most dangerous distractions do not involve a smartphone at all.
When a car accident happens, you generally have an idea of which vehicle caused the crash. Drivers who are distracted can make many mistakes on the road, such as:
If there are no text records or other evidence that a driver was using a smartphone, it can be challenging to prove they were distracted. After all, you cannot obtain evidence that a driver was daydreaming unless they admit it themselves, which is highly unlikely. Instead, you will generally have to prove the mistake they made on the road that was the result of their distracted driving.
Perhaps a witness saw the car stray from its lane or fail to hit the brakes before it hit you. This is enough to demonstrate the driver was negligent, as they breached their duty to drive in a reasonably safe manner. At this point, it becomes unnecessary to prove why they left their lane or did not stop in time.
At the law office of Terry & Kelly Attorneys, our Austin motor vehicle accident attorneys help victims of distracted driving crashes. Call (512)-910-2000 or contact us online for more information today.
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