Texting While Driving Car Accidents in Palm Springs
Driving a car is crucial for getting around, whether traveling to and from work or recreating in your community. But it comes with inherent risks because not everyone on the road is dependable. In the last decade, the risks of driving a car have increased because so many people text while driving. Smartphones make texting easy and fast, but texting while driving can lead to an accident and land you in legal trouble.
When you are injured from texting while driving car accidents in Palm Springs, it is important to consult with a lawyer immediately. One of our seasoned car crash attorneys could help you make a claim to pursue compensation from the other driver and gather evidence to bolster your case.
Texting While Driving Can Cause an Accident
Texting has become an integral part of daily life, with constant contact through technology as the new normal. However, texting while behind the wheel increases the risk of an accident.
Texting can divert a driver’s attention from the road, even if only for a split second to read or send a response. Additionally, texting requires at least one hand coming off the wheel, reducing the ability of a driver to avoid a sudden danger or collision.
Some hands-free options can facilitate texting through voice commands, but a driver’s attention can still shift while listening to a text and responding by voice. Beyond the risks of an accident, texting while driving in Palm Springs can have serious legal consequences.
The Law Relating to Texting While Driving
Under state law, the person at fault for another person’s injury takes responsibility for that injury and losses coming from it. There are also penalties on top of civil liability.
Texting While Driving is Illegal
The state has outlawed using a cell phone while driving, unless the phone has hands-free capabilities enabled and in use. California Vehicle Code § 23123 creates this prohibition and fines for every violation, and CA Veh Code § 23123.5 extends the law to forbid texting through wireless devices as well.
A driver can use their phone in certain situations, such as emergencies or if they operate a bus or emergency vehicle, as well as if a driver is on private property. Once a driver starts out on the road, however, they can only use their phone hands-free.
Negligence and Negligence per se
When someone is injured in a texting while driving car accident, their claim against another driver usually comes from the idea of negligence. California Civil Code § 1714 holds a person responsible for the injuries of another coming from that person’s want of ordinary care in their actions.
Every driver has a duty to operate their vehicle safely and correctly, obeying all traffic laws and taking care not to injure other drivers or pedestrians. Proving another driver’s negligence requires showing that duty, a breach of that duty, and the breach caused another’s injury and legal damages.
Texting while driving can play a part in showing a driver’s negligence in causing a car accident, since texting while driving diverts a driver’s attention from the road. Texting while driving can also help a person show “negligence per se,” a legal shortcut to showing negligence through the violation of a statute.
Because state law forbids texting while driving—unless using hands-free methods—a driver who violates that law could have acted with negligence per se. To show negligence per se, a person and their legal team must show three things:
- Their harm was meant to be prevented by the statute
- There was a statute in place violated by the responsible party
- The victim was in a class of persons meant to be protected by the statute
When a driver causes a collision in Palm Springs because they texted while driving, an injured person can more easily show that driver’s responsibility by negligence per se because they violated the statute.
Discuss Texting While Driving Collisions With a Palm Springs Attorney
Texting while driving car accidents can lead to fines as violation of the law and damages when an injured person sues a driver allegedly at fault. But these cases are not always simple.
This state uses a system of comparative fault, so even if you texted while driving and were in an accident, you could still recover from another negligent driver. One of our trusted lawyers could help you determine how much fault lies with another driver and answer any other questions you might have about texting while driving car accidents in Palm Springs. Call today to schedule a consultation and get started on your case.
