Cellphone How To

Is driving while using your cell phone a distraction? Does it make it easier to sue in the event of an accident?

I see people on their cell phones each and every day in the car, the vast majority of which never get in an accident. People also eat, and change the radio, or heat / A/C, and many other things while on the road. In addition to that most states already have laws against doing distracting things while driving. Many states have enacted special laws just for cell phones on the road, and what you can and can't do with them while driving.

So today I read this post about a woman who was paid $5.2M because the other driver in the accident was on a cell phone when she caused the accident. In fact - she 'read-ended' the plaintiff. The judge ruled that "reasonable cell phone use was acceptable under the law" which I think was good. But it turns out that the defendant in this case was driving a delivery truck and had the cruise control set to 77mph in an 77mph zone (while using the cell phone). The little mistake made the judge see that there was "intentional negligence". The plaintiff in this accident lost her entire arm up to the shoulder due to complications to the crash, so you can see why the damages awarded were so high.

Cell phones can be great when used properly. Like I said in my post the other day, cell phones can be used to find people in the event of a crash provided your service is "Phase II" capable. I read in the news this crash victim was found using the Phase II GPS technology of his cell phone. Be sure to ask your provider if they're Phase II capable or not.

What do you think about driving with a cell phone, is it reasonable use when used properly - or always a distraction?