Do You Have Questions About Distracted Driving and Distracted Driving Accidents?

If you have questions about the laws, definition, and impact of distracted driving on Georgia auto accidents, you are not alone. Such questions comprise a large portion of the inquiries and concerns that the Georgia auto accident attorneys at the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates encounter every day. There are many laws and traffic safety regulation agencies that exist at the national level, the state level, and the local level, specifically to address these issues, yet many questions remain.

On the surface, the definition of distracted driving might seem simple, being anything takes your conscious awareness away from the road, with the most commonly referred to example being the unsafe act of texting while driving. Yet, there are many other forms of distracted driving, and sometimes people are guilty of doing so without realizing it. It is in these cases where unexpected auto accidents occur and the negligent party might not even be fully aware of exactly what happened. The victims are left with serious injuries, property damage, and an array of irrecoverable losses, including the potential loss of a loved one. The distracted driver can then face the worst of consequences for their mistake.

Here, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions that we see. If you have any questions that aren’t listed here, contact an attorney to discuss them . Further, if you were the victim of a distracted driving auto accident in Georgia, contact the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates to schedule a free consultation and get the advice and representation that you will need to successfully recover all of the compensation that is owed to you.

What Kinds of Behaviors Count As Distracted Driving in Georgia?

There are many behaviors that fall into the category of distracted driving. Beyond this, there are different types of distractions that these behaviors are covered by. The primary three types of distracted driving are cognitive, physical, and visual. Depending on the circumstances, the distracted driving behavior that is involved in your case could fall into one or more of these categories.

What Is the Difference Between These Categories of Distracted Driving?

Cognitive distractions are those that involve your attention and thought processes. This might mean that you are daydreaming or paying attention to something else. Simply having a conversation with someone else in the vehicle (or on the phone) would be a cognitive distraction. Reading is another example.

Physical distractions are among the most dangerous of distractions because they involve you physically doing something else while driving. The most common example, which you may be surprised to learn is even more dangerous than texting while driving, is eating while driving. This is common because of drive through restaurants, where you can get your food and eat it on the go. The messier and more complicated the food or beverage, the more likely an accident is to occur.

If something is spilled and you attempt to clean it while driving, this can also cause an accident. Some people cause accidents through physical distractions like looking for something in the vehicle, searching the seats or the glove box. Changing the radio station is another common example.

Visual distractions involve anything that causes you to look away from the road. This could happen very briefly and still result in a serious auto accident. A common example of this would be glancing away from the road to look at something else going on inside or outside of the car, especially when there are other accidents, which can cause many people to look in the direction of the collision and end up being in a collision of their own. While some people may avoid texting and driving, they might be tempted to look at their phones when they receive a text or notification, and this could also be visual distraction.

How Likely Is A Distracted Driver to Cause a Georgia Auto Accident?

A distracted driver is extremely likely to cause a Georgia auto accident. There are hundreds of thousands of injuries and thousands of untimely and tragic deaths caused by these behaviors every year. In fact 20% of all auto accidents (an estimate) are directly related to drivers who are distracted from the road and surrounding traffic by cognitive, physical, and/or visual distractions. This means that if you are distracted from the road, even briefly, you are 4 times as likely to cause a very serious auto accident than someone who is not driving with distractions.

Do You Need an Attorney to Handle a Distracted Driving Auto Accident Claim?

In many distracted driving cases, it is very clear and apparent who the at-fault driver is. The driver may have admitted to being distracted, witnesses may have noticed their distraction, or evidence of their distraction may be found at the scene (example: a cell phone with a text conversation open). In these cases, you may think that you don’t need an attorney, because nobody is disputing liability and the insurance company seems willing to work with you fairly.

Yet, the reality is that even if liability is obvious and undisputed, it can be very difficult to receive fair compensation from an insurance company that wants to save themselves money by offering a low ball settlement. It isn’t all about proving liability. You also have to prove the extent of your damages and losses to the auto insurance company, and potentially to a judge or jury, though this is less likely. If you have an attorney working for you, then you have a strong and knowledgeable advocate to ensure that you get all of the compensation that you need and deserve.

Contact the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates to discuss your claim with our dedicated Georgia auto accident attorneys today. We’ll make sure that you get started on the right foot and receive the compensation that is owed to you, without being taken advantage of by an insurance company.