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Request a Free Consultation Massachusetts Distracted Driving Car Accidents
Our Boston Lawyers Have Recovered Millions of Dollars in Compensation for Car Accident Victims
Distracted driving is a serious and persistent problem on our roadways, causing thousands of injuries and deaths each year. Distracted driving is any activity that takes a driver's focus away from the road. This may include cell phone use, texting, eating, drinking, reading or grooming. Intense conversation with passengers can also distract drivers.But cell phone use causes many injuries. As a result, more states, including Massachusetts, have now passed more comprehensive distracted driving laws, which ban both texting and hand-held cell phone use. There has been a great deal of education for Massachusetts drivers, yet many continue to pick up cell phones. These drivers are operating with negligence and if they cause you injury, you may have the right to pursue a claim seeking financial compensation for your recovery.
Contact Our Boston Distracted Driving Car Accident Attorneys
If you have been injured by a distracted driver, contact an experienced Boston car accident lawyer and learn your rights. For a free legal consultation, call our attorneys at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676. You can also use our contact form.
Massachusetts Distracted Driving Laws
Cell phone use by drivers causes more than 1.6 million car crashes across the country each year, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Massachusetts passed legislation banning texting while driving in 2010. During the first three years, The Boston Globe reported more than 180 people died in distracted driving crashes.
Massachusetts State and local police wrote more than 18,000 tickets for texting while driving from October 2010 to mid-April 2016. In the first year, 1,153 tickets were issued. Tickets increased each year, reaching 6,131 tickets in 2015. Police were most likely to issue a texting-while-driving ticket between the 4-6 p.m. commuting hours.
Many criticized the law as ineffective and lawmakers continued to push for the hands-free law. After several failed attempts, Massachusetts lawmakers approved hands-free legislation in 2019. The new Massachusetts Hands-Free Law took effect in 2020.
Massachusetts Texting While Driving Ban. The Massachusetts Safe Driving Law became effective on Sept. 30, 2010. With this law, Massachusetts banned junior operators - drivers between 16 1/2 and 18 years old - from using cell phones to text or make phone calls. Drivers 18 and older were banned from texting while driving. Older drivers were still allowed to pick up cell phones to make calls, which made enforcement a challenge. Read about Massachusetts texting while driving accidents.Massachusetts Hands-Free Driving Law. Under this law, drivers can no longer pick up cell phones in Massachusetts. Instead, they can use hands-free technology. Cell phones can also no longer be used for GPS, unless devices are mounted on the vehicle dashboard. Taking effect on April 1, 2020, this law applies to drivers 18 and older. Junior operators are not allowed to use hands-free cell phone systems.
As Distracted Driving Rises, So Do Motor Vehicle Accidents
Distracted driving is a critical topic because automobile accidents have risen over the past decade. The National Safety Council estimate as many as 40,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2016 - a nine-year high. The period from 2014 to 2016 saw the greatest two-year increase in more than 50 years. In 2018, there was a small 2 percent decline.
- The NHTSA reported 3242 people died from distracted-affected driving in 2017.
- On any given day, an estimated 660,000 drivers are using electronic devices, according to the NHTSA.
- Drivers using cell phones have slower reaction times than drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent, the legal limit for drunk driving in Massachusetts (University of Utah).
What to Do If You Have Been Injured by Distracted Driving in Massachusetts
Drivers who use cell phones or engage in other distracted driving behaviors and cause injury are operating with negligence. Drivers have a responsibility to be informed about driving laws.If you have been injured in a car or truck accident caused by distracted driving, you may be entitled to recover monetary damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost wages. Depending on the facts of your case, you may be able to pursue additional damages as well.
You will have to show you suffered an injury as a result of the car crash and that the person was texting while driving, holding a cell phone or was operating negligently in some way.
A police citation for texting while driving or cell phone use may be used as evidence in your civil claim. Local police, however, may not issue a citation in every accident for texting or other traffic offenses. You may need to find other ways to demonstrate the driver's negligence. This is where our attorneys' experience comes in. We work with a veteran team of accident reconstruction experts and have decades of experience investigating all types of car accidents, including pedestrian accidents and bicycle crashes. We are committed to reaching the best result for every client.
