While Florida is now one of only 11 states that does not make it illegal to text while driving, it was still interesting to read how authorities in the other 39 states are identifying distracted drivers and enforcing their cell phone bans. “Police look for the same telltale signs they would employ if they were looking for a drunk driver,” Chief Randy Cox of the Somerset Borough Police Department in Pennsylvania told the USA Today for a story published on July 26, 2012.
Some of the behaviors the article said officers look for in identifying a distracted driver include:
- Traveling significantly faster or slower than the speed limit or flow of traffic
- Needlessly changing speeds
- Stopping longer than necessary at red lights or stop signs
- Weaving through traffic
- Inability to maintain lane position
As we have said before, there are many similarities between drunk driving and distracted driving. A motorist who is “driving while intexticated” is every bit as dangerous as someone who is driving while intoxicated.
In our next blog post, we will discuss some of the advice the USA Today article had in regards to dealing with a texting driver. You can find additional information about the types of catastrophic injuries that result from distracted driving crashes on our website. If you or a loved one has sustained serious injuries in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, you can use the form located on this page to tell us about your case or contact our firm at (800) 235-7060 to see how our Orlando personal injury attorneys may be able to help.
Wooten Kimbrough, P.A. – Orlando personal injury lawyers