Category: Distracted Driving

Did you know that in more than 90% of San Diego car accidents are the result of human error? Sure, there is no such thing as a “perfect” driver – but let’s face it, every one of us could improve at least one aspect of their driving. Observation, anticipation, less distraction, or just learning the rules of the road – all can reduce the risk of becoming yet another roadway statistics in 2014.

As one of the areas most experienced car accident lawyers, I know that roughly 10 million people are involved in car accidents each year. According to the CDC, auto accidents are also the leading cause of death for teenagers. There is simply no denying that car accidents are responsible for needless injury, death, and grief every single year.

Unfortunately, most of us know someone who has answered a text while driving. Cell phones are with us everywhere we go, and they are a major contributor to distracted driving accidents.

But are these types of accidents always reported? No, according to the National Safety Council.

According to a recent investigation of state and federal data, deaths that result from cell phone related accidents are seriously underreported. In a study financed in part by the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, the advocacy group reviewed approximately 180 fatal car accidents spanning the years of 2009, 2010, and 2011, in which there was strong evidence of cellphone usage by the driver. The results found that only 8% of the 2009 crashes were coded as involving cell phones. Even in cases where drivers openly admitted to using a phone during an accident in which someone was killed, roughly half of the cases cited other causes instead.

San Diego personal injury attorneys know that school bus safety is of the utmost importance. That’s why the team at the Elia Law Firm, APC paid attention to a recent news report that cited the concerns of a local parent who allegedly witnessed a San Diego Unified School District bus driver writing and reading while at the wheel with students on board.

Myles Cooper says he had just dropped off his daughter at elementary school and was slowly merging onto the westbound Interstate 8 at College Avenue when he noticed the school bus not keeping up with the onramp traffic.

Cooper told 10News, “You can see very clearly the hand of the bus driver holding a paper and a pencil right on top of the steering wheel,” he said.