Whether you live in Aventura, Miami, or anywhere in Miami-Dade county, you’ve likely seen distracted drivers on the road. Any driver who is applying makeup, texting, talking on the phone, eating, or otherwise not fully focused on driving is a danger on the road.
Distracted driving can cause traffic accidents which lead to burn injuries, fractures, whiplash, spinal cord trauma, head injuries, and other catastrophic injuries. A few seconds of inattention is all it can take to affect a person’s life seriously and negatively.
Preventing Distraction on South Florida Roads
There are several things drivers can do to reduce the risk of distraction:
- Be prepared for driving: Program the GPS, select the music playlist, check weather and road conditions, and generally ensure you won’t have to do any of this while driving. If you need to, send a quick text if you need to say you’ll be unavailable for a bit so no one will be trying to contact you.
- Reduce cognitive distraction: Cognitive distraction means focusing your mind on another task other than driving. It can mean being distracted by daydreams, or worrying about something at home or work. It can mean using hands-free devices or even talking with a passenger. Before you get in the car, find ways to reduce or mitigate these distractions. Make sure you are emotionally able to focus on the road.
- Designate a passenger to help you: If you are driving with someone, ask them to send any texts, check GPS, watch for street signs, and otherwise take care of non-driving tasks so you can focus on driving.
- Turn off mobile devices: Set them to airplane mode so you can’t even hear them ringing or vibrating.
- Know your dangers: If you can’t resist a “quick peek” at your phone, put it on airplane mode and put it in the trunk so you won’t be tempted. If you’re tempted by your hands-free texting app, remove it from your car’s dashboard so you can’t use it.
- Pull over if you need to: If you do need to send a text, remove your sweater or jacket, reach something in the back seat, check directions, or do anything else which will distract you, pull over in a safe area instead of trying to multi-task.
- Drive defensively: Being aware of the road around you and thinking a few moves ahead keeps you engaged in driving, which makes it less likely you will get distracted or start daydreaming.
Have You Been Injured by a Distracted Driver?
If you have been injured by a distracted driver, you may have a claim and may be able to seek compensation for medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and your other losses. To find out whether you have a claim and how much your claim may be worth, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free, no obligation case consultation. Our compassionate legal team has more than 60 years of combined experience and we have already recovered over $100 million in settlements and trial wins for our clients. Contact us today to discuss your potential case.