With the frequent rainfall in Fort Walton Beach and other rears of Florida, driving is often challenging. Alcohol, drugs and distractions only exacerbate the dangers. Texting while driving is sometimes seen as the only source of driver distraction. However, many other things can take a driver’s focus off the road.
Distractions can take the drivers’ eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel and their minds off driving.
- Visual distractions include drivers checking themselves in the mirror, focusing on billboards and rubbernecking when driving past crash scenes.
- Visual and physical distractions overlap when drivers do personal grooming, text, read newspapers or maps, attend to passengers and pets, and reach for dropped objects.
- Physical distractions also take drivers’ hands off the wheel when they use hand-held cellphones, eating, drinking and operating infotainment devices.
- Mental distractions include all the above distractions, along with using hands-free mobile phones, interacting with passengers, using voice-activated devices, and daydreaming.
Distracted drivers could miss cues that indicate imminent danger, critical events and objects on the roadways. The list of potential risks while driving is endless, and even distractions lasting only seconds can cause accidents — often with devastating consequences. What makes this type of driving even worse is that distracted drivers could cause severe injuries or death to their passengers and occupants of other vehicles.
Victims of accidents caused by the negligence of distracted drivers typically have to deal with medical bills, lost wages and emotional damages, all of which could have long-term consequences. Anyone in such circumstances in Florida might have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit to obtain financial relief. Similarly, surviving family members of those who lost their lives could file wrongful death lawsuits to pursue recovery of end-of-life expenses and other damages.