Our Las Vegas distracted driving car accident attorneys will advise you of your legal rights and options for pursuing benefits to ensure you receive the maximum benefits available to you under Nevada law. Using a cell phone while driving is not illegal in Nevada. A small number of state and local bills to limit the use of cell phones by drivers have been proposed in Nevada but not passed.
Allthough more than 40 countries around the world (including most European countries, Japan and Australia) do not allow cell phone use by drivers, and although cell phone bans are becoming more common among the U.S. states, any driver in a moving personal vehicle can use his or her cell phone (or text messaging device) while driving in Nevada.
Millions of Drivers With Cell Phones
According to a 2008 report, more than 250 million people in the U.S. now subscribe to a wireless communication device such as a cell phone, compared to about 4.3 million people in 1990. Many studies have been conducted regarding cell phone usage by drivers, and they essentially all show that cell phone use makes a driver several times more likely to be in a car crash.
Two Types of Dangers
The dangers associated with cell-phone driving are twofold – when drivers:
- Drivers take their eyes off the road while they’re dialing or texting.
- Drivers become absorbed in the phone conversation they’re having, impairing their driving skills.
We’ve all seen drivers chatting away on a cell phone, missing a traffic cue, driving too slowly or too quickly, turning too wide, cutting another driver off. Inattentive driving accounted for between 6% and 7% of fatalities in car crashes in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Serious Injuries, Fatalities Because of Cell Phones
Minor driving mistakes are one thing; causing serious injuries and fatalities because of the distraction of a cell phone is quite another. The victims in cell phone car crashes have the extra aggravation of knowing that their troubles were caused for such a trivial reason – someone’s an unnecessary phone conversation.
Teenage Drivers Using Cell Phones Are a Hazard
A study of nearly 250 drivers aged 18 to 73 found that the teenagers were driving while using cell phones, text-messaging devices, digital music players and illuminated, interactive dashboard maps for an alarming amount of the time they were on the road.
Conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), the study showed that teens’ gadget-based impaired driving is of significant concern.
“Impairment Epidemic”
Thomas Dingus, the director of the VTTI, noted that the 2 million miles’ worth of video footage of the study’s subjects reveals “an impairment epidemic” among teen drivers and that although teenagers tend to consider themselves invincible and as proficient multitaskers, they are actually particularly vulnerable to distractions while driving.
“What we’ve seen and continue to see is that teen drivers engage in a lot of different types of tasks while driving…the problem is they’re not very good at judging risk. They tend to use (the devices) in driving situations when they shouldn’t,” Dingus said.
Although drivers of all ages were observed engaging in poor or outright dangerous cell phone or text use while driving, the teens did it significantly more often and were making particularly poor driving decisions while doing so.
Survey of Teens Shows They Realize the Danger
In a related matter, a national survey sponsored by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) asked more than 900 teenage drivers about their driving habits. The teens reported that they found the following activities “extremely” or “very” distracting:
- instant or text messaging while driving – 37%
- having several friends in the car – 19%
- talking on a cell phone – 14%
- eating or drinking – 7%
- having a friend in the car – 5%
States Are Taking Action
Several states have implemented or are about to implement laws to limit such device usage among teen drivers. California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee all have or will have limitations on a cell phone or other wireless communication device use by teen drivers or drivers with learners’ permits.
Across the United States, the tide appears to be turning against cell phone use by drivers of all ages. Most other developed countries around the world already ban cell phone use by drivers, and it is thought by many safety agencies that the U.S. will eventually reach the same point.
If you’ve been hurt in a cell phone car crash, consult our Las Vegas cell phone car crash lawyers today at (702) 505-8115 to discuss your legal options.
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