Florida vehicle accident attorneys are seeing another attempt by lawmakers to reduce distracted driving car accidents. Orlando Weekly is reporting that a Florida state senator will introduce new legislation in the upcoming session. The proposal, by Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, is called the “Florida Ban on Wireless Communications Devices While Driving Law.” The measure “would prohibit texting, reading data or talking on wireless handheld devices while behind the wheel,” according to Fox35Orlando. It marks yet another effort to have Florida join other states in making driving while distracted a primary offense. Currently, driving while texting is a secondary offense, meaning that police cannot stop a driver for that reason. An officer may issue a ticket for distracted driving after pulling a driver over for some other offense.
For years, Boca Raton State Representative Emily Slosberg has been working to make texting and driving a primary offense. Slosberg was in a 1996 car crash that killed 5 teenagers, including her twin sister. But the legislation has always foundered on civil rights concerns.
The prevalence of phones, new research, and publicized crashes has started many debates related to the role cell phones play in driver distraction. This chart details state cellular phone use and texting while driving laws.https://t.co/diU3SATgdi @NCSL #DistractedDriving pic.twitter.com/DVGwl8SdBj
— Cellcontrol (@Cellcontrol) November 23, 2018
Florida Vehicle Accident Attorneys See Rise in Distracted Driving Injury Lawsuits
Florida vehicle accident attorneys have been seeing an increase in personal injury lawsuits from distracted driving accidents. WUSF reports that distracted driving causes more than 50,000 car accidents a year in Florida. The report said the increase in accidents is due to younger drivers embracing new technology. Florida Highway Patrol Captain Tom Pikul told WUSF that younger drivers “grew up with technology and its harder for them to put down the phone and pay attention to what they’re doing on the roadway. And we want to stress that it is a violation to drive and text.”
While the new proposed legislation would make cell phone use and texting a primary offense, using hands-free communications would not be affected.
When negligence hurts you or a loved one, you are entitled to compensation under the law. In order to get a fair settlement, you need an experienced personal injury attorney who knows how to be tough with insurance companies. Consider the Orlando car accident attorneys at Martinez Manglarid, PA. We’ve been fighting for accident victims in Central Florida for more than 30 years. For a free case review at one of our convenient locations, call 407-846-2240.
