motorist inattention blindness | Northern California Personal Injury Blog

Cell Phone Distracted Driving Top Safety Issue for CA Office of Traffic Safety

By Kelly Balamuth on April 27, 2010

The California Office of Traffic Safety has added distracted driving to the list of top safety issues in its Strategic Highway Safety Plan. An article in the Sacramento Bee reports that distracted driving from cell phone usage accounts for an increase in the number of auto accidents.

Officials say that drivers need at least 3 seconds of reaction time in order to avoid crashes, but distractions from cell phones can cause drivers to take their eyes from the road for up to 10 seconds. Because the distraction time exceeds the reaction time, drivers who use cell phones while driving can experience higher risks of auto accidents in San Francisco due to loss of attention and focus.

Further, officials state that cell phones can also cause another distraction known as “inattention blindness” during driving. Inattention blindness is the inability of a driver to perceive clearly visible objects, even if the objects are in plain view.

Drivers who talk on cell phones can experience inattention blindness at higher rates, because their attention is divided between their cell phone conversation and the task of driving. Inevitably, the split attention span causes deficiencies in driving ability that would not be present if these drivers solely concentrated on driving.

As a result, inattention blindness can falsely lead drivers to think they are paying notice, when, in actuality, they are really driving while their mind is focused elsewhere.

Northern California car collisions stemming from inattention blindness related to cell phone usage can be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit based on driver negligence. If you or a loved one is injured in an auto accident involving a driver distracted by cell phone usage, you may have a viable cause of action for personal injury.

You or your loved one may be eligible to recover the costs of medical expenses, lost wages, auto repairs, and other expenses as well as pain and suffering damages from the auto accident. The San Francisco accident attorneys of Balamuth Harrington, LLP have over 15 years of experience in handling auto accident cases and other personal injury claims in Northern California. We represent plaintiffs in an array of Northern California personal injury and auto accident cases. If a driver’s distraction from a cell phone caused you or your loved ones injury in an auto accident, we can help you place responsibility where it belongs — on the negligent driver. For a free consultation, contact our office today at 1-888-254-1234.