Negligent Driving Is A Common Cause of Accidents

Accidents caused by negligent driving are on the rise. It wasn’t long ago that when you heard the term “negligent driver” you thought of someone speeding or driving at night without his or her headlights on. In today’s society, a negligent driver is often a person that has to return a text right away, read email, or check on their social media account while driving down the road.

What is negligence in this day and age in the eye of the courts and how is it proven? With so many potential distractions available to drivers both inside and outside the car, this topic has become increasingly important. It is especially important for victims to understand their rights when involved in accidents caused by negligent driving.

What is Negligent Driving?

Negligent driving describes when a motorist fails to act in a responsible manner in a specific situation. In the field of law, this may also apply when the careless actions of a driver results in the injury of another motorist, passenger or pedestrian.

Generally speaking, when a person is negligent, it means that he or she has behaved in a thoughtless or careless manner, which has caused harm or injury to another person. If a driver is negligent and isn’t reasonably careful and injures someone as a result, the driver is ultimately responsible or liable for injuring the accident victim.

Some important things to understand when considering whether or not to pursue a negligent driving case include;

• What was the driver doing that lead to negligence
• What caused the negligent accident to occur
• What were the ultimate results of this negligence (injury, fatality, property damage, etc)

Types of Negligent Driving:

Negligent driving comes in many different forms and may lead to several different outcomes; none of which are very positive. If a driver is caught performing these actions, he or she may face charges, a ticket, license suspension, possible time in jail, or find himself or herself in a lawsuit.

Some types of negligent driving fall under an obvious statutory violation such as driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and are easily proven. Other types of negligence aren’t as easy to prove which is where an attorney may come in to play if you are considering filing a claim.

Some common types of negligent driving include:

• Aggressive driving
• Driving with hazard lights on
• Excessive lane changing
• Failing to use turn signals
• Failing to yield
• Failing to yield to pedestrians (pedestrians nearly always have right of way)
• Tailgating
• Reckless driving
• Road rage
• Rolling stops
• Running a red light
• Speeding

Causes of Negligent Driving:

Where “types of negligent driving” is what may be cited in court, what actually causes the negligence is a bigger concern in today’s world of electronics and distractions.

In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes, and 391,000 people were injured. This accounts for 10% of all fatal crashes in the nation, 15% of injury crashes and 14% of all motor vehicle crashes in 2015. The number one killer of teens in America is distracted driving.

Types of Distractions that cause negligent driving include:

• Texting/Using Smart Phone while driving
• Grooming/applying makeup
• Changing the music
• Daydreaming
• Driver fatigue
• Eating or drinking while driving
• Passenger distractions
• Pet distractions
• Smoking

Results of Accidents Caused by Negligent Driving

Negligent drivers are responsible for a large percentage of the over 2 million injuries and nearly 35,000 traffic related deaths (reported in 2014), as well as the accidents that are caused today. In many of these cases drivers are simply not paying the attention they should while driving. As a result, they have little or no time to react and ultimately end up causing an accident harming themselves, their passangers, or someone else.

Some typical injuries caused by negligent drivers include:

• Airbag injuries
• Broken bones
• Concussion
• Dental injuries
• Dislocated joints
• Facial injuries
• Head trauma
• Internal bleeding
• Loss of limb
• Neck injuries
• Nerve damage
• Passenger injuries
• Seatbelt injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Whiplash

How David & Philpot Can Help

If you have been involved in or injured after a car accident in Florida, please contact an experienced auto accident attorney at David & Philpot to help you through the recovery process. David & Philpot, P.L. has been representing accident victims for over 20 years. We’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients and are here to help you. Contact us today at 800.360.7015 for a free consultation.