How to Prove Distracted Driving

Were you hit and injured by a driver who was talking on the phone, eating or drinking, or focused on something besides driving? Distracted driving is a leading cause of car accidents in Kentucky and across the U.S. If a distracted driver caused you harm, you have the right to seek fair compensation for your injuries, medical bills, and other losses you’ve incurred. 

The distracted driving accident lawyers of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for people in Lexington and across Kentucky. Our attorneys have the Kentucky Courage to stand up to big insurance companies and demand fair compensation to help you recover. 

Call us today at (877) 809-5352 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about your legal options in a free initial consultation.

What Is Distracted Driving?

Distracted driving involves not giving your full attention to the task of driving. Even an activity such as programming a car navigation system or tuning the radio can contribute to a distracted driving accident. More than 45 percent of all collisions in Kentucky in a recent year were attributed to distracted or inattentive driving, according to the Kentucky Drivers Manual.

Distractions can be visual, manual, or cognitive. A driver may have their eyes diverted from the road or have their hands off the wheel. A driver who is engaged in a conversation or daydreaming may not have their mind on the task of driving.

Common examples of driver distraction include:

• Texting or talking on the phone
• Watching videos 
• Reading
• Eating food or drinking beverages
• Applying makeup, shaving, or combing hair
• Checking one’s reflection or changing clothes
• Reaching for dropped items 
• Looking for things inside the car
• Turning around to interact with passengers or pets
• Focusing on conversations with passengers
• Daydreaming, reading billboards, or rubbernecking
• Fiddling with GPS devices, climate controls, or radio knobs

Distractions cause drivers to react more slowly to changes in traffic conditions. A distracted driver may fail to see the driver in front braking, a car pulling out of a side road, or a pedestrian in a crosswalk at a Lexington intersection.

How to Prove Distracted Driving

Even if it seems obvious to you that the other driver’s distraction was the cause of your accident, you must still provide proof of this fact to recover money through an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. When the attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer handle Lexington distracted driving accident cases, we frequently seek the following types of evidence to demonstrate driver distraction:

• Police accident reports – If law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the accident, the police most likely created an accident report, which contains useful information. Depending on the circumstances, a police report may include details such as any citations issued for traffic violations, results from toxicology tests, and the investigating officer’s official opinion regarding who was at fault. If the other driver was cited for a distracted driving offense, it could be helpful to your case.

• Physical evidence – Many types of physical evidence could indicate that the other driver was distracted at the time of the accident. Examples include open food or beverage containers in the car, recently used electronic devices, or even the lack of tire skid marks on the road that suggests the driver wasn’t looking at the road and failed to brake before the collision.

• Driver phone records – If you suspect the other driver was texting or talking on the phone before an accident, your attorney can subpoena the cell phone records of the driver. Obtaining these records can be a challenge, but they can provide pivotal evidence in a distracted driving case.

• Eyewitness statements – If any vehicle occupants or external witnesses saw the accident occur, their statements and testimony can support your case.

• Expert witness testimony – In some cases, our attorneys may work with expert witnesses such as accident reconstruction specialists. These professionals can examine the physical damage left behind by a wreck to determine how each driver behaved in the moments leading up to the crash.

Distracted Driving Laws in Kentucky

Like most states, Kentucky has a number of distracted driving laws on the books, which mainly focus on cell phone use. 

Under state laws, drivers are prohibited from reading, writing, or sending text-based messages on any electronic devices while their vehicles are in motion. 

Kentucky drivers who are under the age of 18 and driving with learner’s permits or provisional licenses are prohibited from talking on cell phones while driving. However, there are no restrictions on talking while driving for Kentucky drivers 18 and older.

There are several exceptions to Kentucky’s texting-while-driving ban. The ban does not apply to situations such as:

• Using GPS features on cell phones while driving
• Using a GPS or navigation system that is electronically integrated into a driver’s vehicle
• Reading, selecting, or inputting a phone number or name into an electronic device to make a phone call while driving (18 and older)
• Texting while driving to report illegal activity, summon emergency assistance, or prevent injury to another person or their property (18 and older)

Operators of public safety vehicles are allowed to text while driving when performing their official duties.

Distracted Driving Facts in Kentucky

A local CBS News station recently reported on a study in which Kentucky was ranked the fifth-worst state in the U.S. for distracted driving. The following distracted driving statistics from the Kentucky Department of Transportation highlight just how devastating distracted driving can be here in the Bluegrass State:

• In a single recent year, there were 40,870 traffic collisions with contributing factors such as driver distraction, driver inattention, or cell phone use in Kentucky. Together, these 40,870 accidents represented approximately 40 percent of all collisions in the state that year.
• Crashes involving distraction, inattention, or cell phone use resulted in 143 fatal accidents, which represented approximately 20 percent of that year’s statewide fatal accidents.
• Driver distraction, inattention, and cell phone use contributed to 435 motorcycle crashes, 103 bicycle crashes, and 266 pedestrian crashes in a single year.
• Driver distraction, inattention, and cell phone use contributed to 3,011 collisions involving large commercial trucks that year, 33 of them causing fatalities.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Today!

When you contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer after a Kentucky car accident, our legal team can review the details of your accident and discuss your legal options. If we handle your personal injury claim, you will speak with an attorney early on in the preparation of your case. Call us now at (877) 809-5352 or contact us online to tell us your story in a free initial case review.

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