In recent years, there has been an increase in car accidents due to cell phone use and texting that has authorities so worried, that there is a wide-spread crack down on the use of phones while behind the wheel.
Since January 2009, it has been illegal for Oregon drivers to use hand-held devices.
But lawmakers aren't the only ones taking action in these alarming times of distracted drivers.
Businesses that offer company cars to employees are making it known that their employees cannot use hand-held devices while driving.
The liability is great.
"The average claim costs $100,000 -- it could be a workers compensation claim, there could be third-party injuries," says Jeff Chilcott, a senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich North America, which provides insurance for company fleets.
He points out that cell-phone related crashes cost $43 billion a year.
Despite laws restricting drivers and hand-held devices, they are often ignored, particularly by teenagers.
This keeps car accident attorneys in Portland, OR and other cities across the country very busy.
It may be good for business, but it's bad for the public health.
While data regarding texting and cell phone use while driving was once sketchy at best, the crisis has necessitated greater attention to the issue.
And the effects of hand-held device use while driving are staggering.
For instance, using a cell phone, even if you are using a Bluetooth, slows your reaction time to that of the average 70-year-old driver.
Here are a select few of the most alarming statistics: - In 2008, there were more than 800,000 cars being driven by someone using a hand-held device at any given time during daylight hours.
- About 25 percent of all car accidents are caused by a driver using a cell phone.
- When you are in the act of dialing a cell phone, you are nearly three times as likely to get into a car accident.
- While drunk driving is an unfortunate affliction on our society, you would be hard pressed to find someone who has done it admit to doing it on purpose.
But we use hand-held devices all of the time willing.
Why the connection? Statistics show that texting while driving is about six times more likely to cause a car accident as drunk driving.
If you or some you love has been injured or killed in a car crash, a car accident attorney in Portland is there to assist you.
It is important to act sooner than later, as litigation may be the only choice you have to recover damages for your pain, suffering, and lost wages, among other potentially recoverable damages you may be unaware of.
But if you have not been involved in an accident related to being distracted by a hand-held device, consider a few more facts: not only do thousands of Oregon drivers get seriously hurt or die due to cell phone use and texting.
Many of those people are innocent passengers.
Worse, many of those innocent passengers are just children.
Think about that the next time you feel the urgent need to respond to a friend's trivial text.