An eighth-grade student in Tampa recently captured video that appears to show her bus driver texting behind the wheel. The episode became the subject of numerous news reports and led to the bus driver’s suspension.
The student from Hillsborough County School took the video on her cell phone. In the video, the driver has one hand on the wheel while she looks at her phone in her other hand. At one point she glances up from her phone and quickly grabs the wheel with both hands.
“Clearly the driver is looking at her cell phone,” the school district said in a statement. “That’s a dangerous distraction for any driver, but the potential danger is greater when you have a bus full of children,” the statement said.
As of October 1, 2013, texting while driving is against the law in Florida
According to Distraction.gov, the federal government’s website on distracted driving, 3,331 people were killed in accidents involving distracted drivers in 2011. Almost 400,000 people were injured.
Some other disturbing statistics related to distracted driving:
- 10 percent of injury crashes in 2011 were the result of distracted driving.
- Engaging in tasks such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting on a hand-held phones tripled the risk of getting into a crash.
- At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving.
- Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent – at 55 mph – of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.
If you were hurt in a crash that was the fault of a distracted driver, you need to be aware of your options. You should strongly think about taking to experienced legal professionals.
The experienced Florida car accident attorneys at the Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A., can be your best resource. We have over 30 years of experience representing injury victims, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
If the accident wasn’t your fault, we want to fight to make sure that you and your family are taken care of. At the very least, your medical bills and other resulting expenses should be covered by the responsible party. And because we only work on contingency, we get paid only when you recover money.
Get in touch with the Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A., today so we can begin working on your case. Call us toll free at 866-596-7638.
The Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A., assists victims of personal injury accidents in Tampa, Holiday, New Port Richey, Spring Hill, Land O’Lakes, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and surrounding areas.
