Almost everyone in Shelby County knows that taking your eyes off the road for even a split second can have horrible results. Even something as quick as a sneeze can end up being the thing that leads to an accident. While something like sneezing isn’t preventable, things like texting and checking your cellphone are. The Memphis Firefighters Association is now starting a new program to cut down on the number of drivers who text or check their cellphones while they drive.
The program will be called “Justify It” and will include public service announcements to help remind the public that life is more important than a text. You are less likely to get into an accident while driving drunk than you are to get into a car accident while texting. That statement should be enough to convince almost anyone to put down the cellphone while driving.
Texting and driving is illegal in Tennessee, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. If you text while you drive, you are 25 percent more likely to get into an accident. Last year, more than a million people were involved in texting-and-driving accidents nationwide, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
With all the talk about accidents caused by texting and driving, it is easy to see why putting the phone away and only checking it while you are stopped is so important. Innocent people who are involved in these types of crashes might suffer serious injuries, which can have an impact on their finances. For these people, seeking compensation for their injuries is possible. If compensation is awarded, it can positively impact the victim’s finances while negatively impacting the texting driver.
Source: News Channel 3, “Firefighters urge you to put phone down when driving” George Brown and Adam Hammond, Jul. 21, 2014
