Seriously injured by a driver who was texting and driving?

Call Lee Wallace.

  • She has 25 years of experience to put to work on your case.
  • She uses her Harvard Law degree to help people just like you.
  • Her peers voted her one of the Top 100 Georgia Lawyers in 2009.
  • Her peers have named her a Georgia SuperLawyer every year since the poll began.

If you have been in a car accident caused by a driver who was texting and driving, call The Wallace Law Firm, LLC for a free consultation.

Drivers who are distracted by text messages cause injuries and deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distraction was involved in 16% of all traffic fatalities, and 21% of all injuries from car wrecks. According to a study from the University of North Texas Health Science Center, published in the American Journal of Public Health, between 2001 and 2007, some 16,000 people were killed as a result of car accidents caused by texting and driving.

Drivers who are texting are far more likely to be involved in a car accident. According to a study from the VirginiaTech Transportation Institute study, text messages are the single most distracting factor to drivers. The study found that truck drivers who were talking on the cell phone were about 6 times as likely to be involved in a “crash or near crash event” than people who were not distracted while they were driving – but truck drivers who were texting were 23 times more likely to be involved in a truck accident. The figure more than doubled the next closest factor, which was performing complex tasks like cleaning a side mirror or “rummaging through a grocery bag.” Drivers performing those tasks were ten times more likely to be in an accident. Even drivers who were writing were only 9 times as likely to be in a car wreck than an undistracted driver.

Georgia drivers who text while driving are breaking the Georgia law. As of July 1, 2010, it became illegal to text and drive in Georgia. The legislature passed O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-241.1 and 40-6-241.2, which make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle on a public road “while using a wireless telecommunications device to write, send, or read any text based communication, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, e-mail, or Internet data.” The code does make limited exceptions for situations in which drivers need to text in order to report crimes or traffic accidents, etc. Law enforcement and public safety officers are not subject to the law if they are texting in the course of performing their duties.

On a page called “Distracted Driving“, the FCC has compiled a number of important governmental reports about the incidence and consequences of texting and driving.

According to the American Automobile Association, nearly 50 percent of teens admit they sometimes text while they are driving. Texting is particularly dangerous for young, less experienced drivers.

Call The Wallace Law Firm, LLC if you have been in a Georgia car accident caused by a driving who was texting.