You hear it more and more often these days. People are getting into car accidents because they were too busy typing out a message on their phone then they are driving. With instant access to everything, it’s hard to put down the phone and drive. But it can be a matter of life or death.
In New Jersey, the use of handheld cell phones while driving is banned and is consider a “primary enforcement of an offense.” This means the police will pull you over if they see you a handheld cell phone and there does not have to be any other reason. If you do cause an accident while texting and driving, a careless driving lawsuit can be brought against you. In fact, if you are on a work-related phone call while driving and you get into an accident, your employer could find himself legally responsible for the accident.
If you must text or take a phone call while you are in the car, here are some safety tips for using your cell phone:
- Try to make the call while the car is not driving
- Don’t make a call in bad weather or heavy traffic
- Keep your phone within easy reach
- Always pull over if you need to text or look something up
- Try to use a hands-free device when possible
- If possible, have a passenger take care of the conversation
Of course the best advice is that it can wait until you get where you need to go.
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