Missouri Says "If You Text, You're Next" (to get a $200 ticket)
The Springfield Injury Law Blog recently addressed Missouri’s new ban on texting while driving. Attorney Jason Krebs highlighted some new public safety announcements by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety designed to focus attention on the deadly consequences of driving while texting. Mr. Krebs also noted that:
Studies by the American Medical Associationshow texting drivers spend 400% more time with their eyes off the road than non-texting drivers. While it doesn't take a statistician to realize that when one's eyes aren't on the road, it is much easier to cause an accident, the American Automobile Association estimates thattexting while driving increases the chance for a car accident by 50%--for any age driver.
While the Missouri ban on texting only applies to drivers under 21 years of age, its impact will likely still be felt. In a previous St. Louis Injury Law Journal article I cited a joint survey conducted by AAA and Seventeen magazine of 1,000 teenagers in 2007 showing that 61 percent admitted to risky driving habits. Of those, about half said they sent text messages and talked on cell phones. Hopefully the ban on texting will serve to halt these deadly statistics.
One of the elements that must be proved to be successful in a Missouri car accident case is breach of duty. One of the ways this may be proved is through “negligence per se” which means a defendant violated a statute that was designed to protect the injured party from being hurt in the car accident. Under Missouri’s new texting ban, proof that a driver under 21 was texting on or around the time of a car wreck may be used to prove breach of duty. Perhaps the legislature will eventually apply the texting ban to all drivers in Missouri to protect us from everyone who puts others at risk by texting while driving.
