Two recent studies looked at the effect of cell phone bans and texting bans on car accidents. One study, published in Science Direct, found that California’s handheld cell phone ban had no effect on reducing car accidents. Another study, published in the Journal of American Health, found that texting while driving bans have reduced teen traffic fatalities by about 11 percent.
Let’s Put Aside the Laws for a Minute
In Illinois, it is currently against the law to use a handheld cell phone while driving. The law may or may not prevent some car accident injuries and fatalities on Lake Shore Drive, the Stevenson Expressway, and other Chicago roads. For the moment, we will assume that the law does not prevent every distracted driving accident in Chicagoland.
However, there are other things that we can do to help prevent distracted driving crashes including:
- Making a personal pledge to stop distracted driving. Each driver can do his part to prevent distracted driving crashes by refusing to answer the phone or text while driving.
- Raising awareness about the problem. We can teach others about the risks of distracted driving.
- Teaching our children. We can model responsible driving behavior and enforce strict rules about distracted driving for our teenagers.
It is also important for drivers to know what to do if they are hurt in a distracted driving crash. People who are injured by distracted drivers may have the right to recover financial damages for their injuries. You can learn more about this in our free report, The 8 Steps to Follow After Your Illinois Car Accident.
