DISTRACTED DRIVING IS DEADLY

Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,522 lives in 2021. Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed. The states determine laws affecting distracted driving, but NHTSA provides federal investments in the locally driven strategies that address the states’ specific needs. One of the highlights of this relationship comes during April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which pairs a national advertising campaign with a law enforcement crackdown called U Drive. U Text. U Pay.

WHAT IS DISTRACTED DRIVING?

Distracted driving is anything that takes the driver’s focus away from the road. There are three types of things that distract a person while driving. Visual distractions include using a phone or looking at signs and other things that may be seen along the road. Manual distractions involve anything that requires a driver to take their hand off the wheel, such as picking up something in the console, eating or drinking a non-alcoholic beverage. Cognitive distractions involve anything that takes the driver’s mental focus off the road such as daydreaming or thinking about a personal or work problem or issue. The use of phones behind the wheel remains the predominant form of distraction in Georgia and is responsible for a majority of traffic crashes in the state and nation. 

DISTRACTED DRIVING LAWS IN GEORGIA

The rising number of traffic deaths is one reason why the state of Georgia enacted a “Hands-free” law in July of 2018. The Hands-Free Georgia Act was signed by Governor Nathan Deal on May 2, 2018, and took effect on July 1, 2018. For more information on the law and FAQ, visit http://www.headsupgeorgia.com/handsfree-law/.

Georgia’s hands-free law prohibits drivers from using a phone in their hand or supported by their body when on the road, and this includes vehicles that are stopped on a road at a traffic signal or stop sign. Drivers using a hands-free device can talk on their phone and watch the screen for navigational purposes. For more information on distracted driving, please go to headsupgeorgia.com.

PENALTIES FOR DISTRACTED DRIVING

Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, is amended by revising subparagraph (c)(1)(A) of Code Section 40-5-57, relating to suspension or revocation of license habitually negligent or dangerous driver and point system as follows:

(xv)  First violation of Code Section 40-6-241 (Hands-Free Georgia Act)      1 point

(xvi) Second violation of Code Section 40-6-241 (Hands-Free Georgia Act)   2 points

(xvii) Third violation of Code Section 40-6-241 (Hands-Free Georgia Act)     3 points

The biggest penalty of distracted driving is the accident that you will inevitably have if the behavior is habitual. Talking, texting, or selecting music or podcasts while driving takes attention away from the road, resulting too often in missed traffic signs/lights; it can also tragically result in not seeing bicyclists or pedestrians until it is too late.  

If you or someone you know has been in an accident involving distracted driving, contact Dave Thomas at The Thomas Law Firm for a free evaluation of your legal rights.