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Chapstick Brings New Awareness to Distracted Driving

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What the driver hoped was an April Fool’s joke proved to be serious when she received a $200 ticket for applying lip balm while stopped at a red light on the I-15. Stephanie Fragoso, the driver of the vehicle, says that she was cited that Wednesday during a “statewide crackdown” on distracted driving, part of NVDOT’s ongoing “Zero Fatalities” program.

The program is focused on preventing distracted-driving car accidents.

The officer reportedly told Fragoso that she could have been doing anything and received the same ticket, from drinking water to shaving her legs.

Law enforcement in Henderson supports the officer’s actions against Fragoso, saying that drivers can be ticketed for anything that takes their focus off the road and forces their hands off the wheel. In part, the law for driving in Nevada states that when an individual is operating a vehicle, he or she must provide full attention when doing so. This ensures that drivers, and others, stay safe while they are behind the wheel.

Distracted Driving: It’s More Than Your Smartphone

Distracted driving is most often associated with smartphones and tablets. This makes sense, considering this is where most of the research has been done over the past decade and is also an area that accounts for an upswing of distracted driving accidents:

  • Using a smartphone while driving makes one 4x more likely to be involved in a serious accident
  • Brain activity is reduced by 37% when using phone and driving
  • Texting drivers are 23x more likely to be involved in an accident than those who are not distracted

While the studies are largely focused on smartphone use, the fact is that many behaviors which we’ve become accustomed to performing in our vehicles – drinking, eating, grooming, or even chatting with passengers – are distractions, and can result in a car accident.

It’s currently estimated that 420,000 individuals across the country are injured because of distracted driving-related car accidents, and a handful more suffer from fatal injuries. There is no question that distracted driving is accounting for numerous car accidents across all of Nevada – likely far more than are currently reported.

Proving that you have been involved in a car accident in Nevada that was due to distracted driving may require an in-depth investigation by the experienced personal injury attorneys at Bertoldo Carter Smith & Cullen.

We have counseled and secured compensation for numerous victims of car accidents, including those involved in distracted driving-related incidents. If you have been injured in any type of car accident, we welcome your call for a free initial consultation at (702) 505-8115.

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