Some of the most common driving distractions seem harmless, such as looking at billboards or people, talking on the radio, interacting with passengers, reaching for objects, and eating or drinking. Like texting, all these distractions are dangerous because they take our eyes and our concentration off the road. What about “co-driving?”
A Texas man was killed over the weekend in a single-vehicle roll-over accident. According to police, the driver overcorrected, left the road and hit a tree and a pipe fence before the vehicle flipped over. The driver and another passenger (or was it two drivers?) were treated and released from an area hospital. A police investigation is ongoing. Although the scene before the accident seemed like something out of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” – a 22-year-old woman sitting in the lap of a 21-year-old man in the driver’s seat was steering the vehicle while the man controlled the pedals – police are not ruling out the possibility that alcohol was a factor.
I am sure that to some degree, all of us are guilty of driver distraction; we all believe we are in full control and nothing will happen. That is what many victims of serious or deadly accidents thought, too. The most important task behind the wheel is to concentrate on your driving. Your life, the lives of your passengers, and the lives of those you share the roads with depend on it. The next time you want to reach for the phone, grab your morning cup ‘o joe, listen to the radio, talk to our kids, take a bite of a Big Mac, or engage in any host of distractions, I encourage you to ask yourself, “Might this be the last thing I do?”
Mark Bello has thirty-seven years experience as a trial lawyer and fifteen years as a leading expert in the lawsuit funding industry. His company, Lawsuit Financial Corporation, provides necessities of life funding to plaintiffs involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. He is a Member, Justice Pac Member, and Sustaining Member of numerous state and national justice associations.
@thumbnail.jpg "Mark M. Bello")
Experienced attorney, lawsuit funding expert, certified civil mediator, and award-winning author of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series. The series features super-trial lawyer Zachary Blake handling "ripped from the headlines" legal and political issues of the day. The series currently consists of Betrayal of Faith, Betrayal of Justice, Betrayal in Blue, Betrayal in Black, and Betrayal High, with a sixth Zachary Blake novel due out later this year. To learn more about these topical social justice legal thrillers. please visit markmbello.com. Mark is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, a sustaining member of the Michigan Association for Justice, and a member of the American Association for Justice.
Comments for this article are closed.