Your Houston-Based Distracted Driving Accidents Lawyers

The Prevalence of Distracting Driving

Drivers have a responsibility to other motorists. They must remain focused on the task at hand or else they pose a serious threat to everyone they share the road with. We all know that we shouldn’t give in to distraction while driving, yet so many drivers succumb to the temptation of a mobile device.

Distraction is everywhere in our lives. We are constantly being bombarded with text messages, phone calls, emails, social media posts, news updates, and many other types of notifications. If we’re sitting at a desk or in our homes, these distractions might be tolerable or even welcome. However, when we’re distracted while behind the wheel, we are putting ourselves, our passengers, and everyone else in our vicinity in danger.

At the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant, we help people who have been injured by negligence, and distracted driving clearly falls into that category. If you or a loved one has been injured by a distracted driver, you shouldn’t have to foot the bill for their carelessness.

Examples of Distracted Driving

What is distracted driving? Drivers can be distracted by many activities. Anything that takes our minds, hands, or eyes off the road increases our chances of being involved in a serious crash. Here are just a few of the most common causes of distracted driving.

• Cell phones (texting, emailing, dialing) & other mobile devices
• Radios
• Eating
• Drinking
• Smoking
• In-vehicle entertainment
• GPS and other navigation devices
• Passengers

Distraction doesn’t just stem from a driver’s actions. A crash on the side of the road or an animal darting in your path can distract you and lead to a serious car accident. However, it’s the distraction that we are responsible for – texting, dialing from our phones, or sending emails – and that we can strive to eliminate from our driving habits.

When another driver’s distraction causes us harm, we are within our rights to explore our legal options. The Houston distracted driver accident attorneys at the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant help clients get the compensation they deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our team.

What You Need to Know Before Taking Legal Action

All you need to know is that you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident and you’re struggling to get the payment you deserve. You don’t need to know how the other driver was at fault or even how much fault that driver carries for your crash. Our attorneys investigate the causes of your crash to determine who was at fault and how much compensation you should be given.

Clients come to the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant after suffering serious injuries, and they simply want their lives to get back to normal. When they hire us, they know they can trust us to sort out the details. You don’t need to be a legal expert or an investigator to get started on a personal injury claim. Let us do the work so you can focus on getting better.

Distracted Driving Facts

• More than 8 people in the United States die every day in distracted driving-related crashes.
• In 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available, there were more than 105,000 crashes in Texas related to distracted driving.
• Of those distracted driving accidents in Texas, 476 people lost their lives and over 3,000 people suffered serious injuries.
• In Harris County alone, there were over 14,000 distracted driving crashes in 2015.

How are People Distracted While Driving?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies three ways in which drivers can be distracted: cognitively, visually, and manually. Cognitive distraction occurs when your mind is not on the task of driving. Visual distraction is when you aren’t looking at the road ahead. Manual distraction happens when a driver takes their hands off a steering wheel.

One of the biggest sources of distraction for drivers is the smartphone.

Smartphones or other mobile devices require our attention in ways that distract us visually, manually, and cognitively. To send a text, for example, a driver must take their focus, eyes, and at least one hand off the wheel. It’s no surprise that sending one single text can increase your chances of being involved in a crash by 23 times

When you consider these three types of distraction, you begin to understand that we are all susceptible to distraction behind the wheel in all sorts of ways. Talking to other passengers, changing the station on our radio, using navigation systems, looking in the mirror, eating, drinking, and even talking on hands-free devices can draw our attention from the task of driving and lead to terrible accidents.

Drivers Most Prone to Distraction

Any driver can be distracted, though certain groups are more likely than others to lose their focus behind the wheel. Younger drivers are notorious for using cell phones while driving. AAA found that nearly 60% of teen vehicle crashes involved some form of distraction and that half of surveyed teens admitted to reading a text or email on their phone while driving in the month before the survey.

Drivers from ages 19 to 24 are twice as likely as other age groups to report sending a text or email while driving. However, that doesn’t mean that older drivers are blameless. One study found that over 60% of teens reported seeing their parents send a text message while driving, even with their children in the vehicle.

Distraction is proving to be one of the major threats to road safety in Texas.

As our lawmakers strengthen laws against cellphone use by drivers, we can all do our part to make sure we focus on the road ahead and set a good example for other drivers. No one wants to be the victim of a distracted driver and suffer the devastating consequences of a vehicle accident.

Types of Injuries Caused by Distracted Driving

We’ve represented clients with many different types of injuries. Every case is different, and we approach each client with the goal of understanding each and every aspect of their suffering. Some of the most common injuries our clients suffer in these types of accidents include…

• Fractures
• Soft tissue damage
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s)
• Spinal injuries
• Organ damage
• Whiplash

These injuries have consequences. They’re painful and costly. They affect our ability to work, play with our children, enjoy our hobbies and connect with our loved ones. These effects are just as serious as the injury itself.

At the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant, we know that pursuing adequate compensation for our clients means knowing all the ways their injury has disrupted their lives. We want to know how you’ve been affected by the negligence of a distracted driver, so we can fight for payment that reflects the challenges you’ve faced.

Contact the Houston distracted driving accident attorneys at the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant to learn how we can help you and your loved ones.

Why Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Attorneys?

You likely have many questions that you want answered. You want to know how much you can get in a personal injury claim. You want to know how long your case might take. There’s no way to answer these questions without knowing the details of your situation. When you schedule a free consultation with our firm, we have more information to base our evaluation on.

Free consultations aren’t just opportunities for attorneys to find out more about your case. They’re also an opportunity for you to see whether you are comfortable with the firm you’re considering. We believe in our team, and we offer free consultations so we can tell you why we’re the right fit for your case. We believe that every firm, no matter how credentialed and reputable, should be able to prove themselves to potential clients.

Let us hear your story and learn how a distracted driving accident has affected your life. The attorneys at the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant know that we can make a difference. Call us today or fill out our online form to learn how.

Our Houston Distracted Driving Accident Attorneys are Here to Help

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a negligent driver, the experienced legal team at the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant is here to help. We will investigate your case to determine who was at fault and how much you are owed, and we’ll fight to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Terry Bryant is a Board Certified personal injury trial lawyer (by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization) and a former judge. He knows the law inside and out. More importantly, he knows what it takes to get results for clients.

We have built our reputation not only on the results we get for our clients, but the relationships we’ve built with those we represent. We believe in the work we do, and we want to help people get the justice they deserve.

To schedule a free consultation with the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant, contact us today by filling out our online contact form or giving us a call.