Could you be sued for texting with a driver? Experts say, 'maybe'

[koalabear]

Could you be blamed for a car crash because you sent a text message?

A New Jersey judge will decide later this week if the sender of a text message might be partially liable for a horrific auto accident that occurred because the driver was reading that message on his cell phone and drifted into oncoming traffic.


http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/...-texting-with-a-driver-experts-say-maybe?lite

 

[Wrong Element]

OK, so what happens if a driver gets distracted by reading a billboard, and drives into a tree in the process? Can he sue the owner of the billboard? If the accident occurs because he was staring at a woman in a bikini, can he sue the woman and the bikini manufacturer? For that matter, what's the difference between the distraction that comes from the split second it takes to read a text, and the momentary distraction of glancing at your GPS or your speedometer, which are normal parts of the driving experience?

"Skippy" Weinstein reinforces my already low opinion of personal injury attorneys.

 

[butters]

sending a series of texts to someone you know is driving and reading them is irresponsible, imo, as you are contributing to their loss of concentration on the road.

 

[TexasWife25]

Talk about lack of personal responsibility

 

[warrior queen]

What about equating this to truckers on the 2-way radio?
At least 5 major crashes here have been attributed to truck drivers being distracted on their radios, 3 of those were on the two way with their fleet managers.

 

[ImSinister]

"Should have known" she was driving home from work? Clearly there was nothing in the text indicating she was driving. We are now going to be responsible for our friends and family's schedules?

This will not fly. It would be much more interesting if the friend had actual knowledge she was driving. I still think it is a loser - responsibility should still rest with the driver to not read/respond while driving.

 

[butters]

"Should have known" she was driving home from work? Clearly there was nothing in the text indicating she was driving. We are now going to be responsible for our friends and family's schedules?

This will not fly. It would be much more interesting if the friend had actual knowledge she was driving. I still think it is a loser - responsibility should still rest with the driver to not read/respond while driving.

i agree.
and, ultimately, yes, but i would not personally continue texting someone i knew to be driving.

 

[ImSinister]

i agree.
and, ultimately, yes, but i would not personally continue texting someone i knew to be driving.

Agreed - in fact I was driving with some friends and the driver was texting and I asked him to stop. He grumbled and I said not to be a dick but it wasn't cool and if he didn't please let me out. He stopped. He was just talking about his 3-year old son. I asked him how he would feel if he killed somebody's son or daughter or somebody killed his son while texting. Heavy thoughts but all too frequent these days.

There are plenty of distractions while driving but there is a reason that reading a novel has always been especially frowned upon.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

If the accident occurs because he was staring at a woman in a bikini, can he sue the woman and the bikini manufacturer?

In Florida yes. There was a guy in Miami who owned several hot dog carts and hired hot young girls to work them wearing flesh colored thong bikinis. This caused several traffic accidents and at least one fatality. The owner of the carts, and the city werw successfully sued and the city made it illegal for vendors to wear skimpy outfits in view of traffic.

 

[busybody..]

THIS is one of your most interesting threads
















































































JK

It sucks

As usual

Just stick to be a DITTOHEAD in my threads...K?

 

[RoryN]

Three strikes on DWIs: license gone for life.

Three strikes on texting while driving: suspended license.

More than a minute running from the cops on a high-speed chase: mandatory 2-year sentence.

 

[EllieTalbot]

Isn't there already a catch-all offense on the books for drivers doing perilously stupid things (like multitasking) when behind the wheel?

I thought it was called reckless driving.

Hellion on the Highway,
Ellie