A recent survey of Californian college students reveals that the majority of the sampled population engages in illegal distracting behavior while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle by using a mobile phone for text or voice communication without the use of a hands-free device.
According to a research study conducted at the University of California San Diego, nearly 80 percent of the college students living in San Diego County report using a handheld communication device while driving. The study was carried out by the university’s Trauma Epidemiology and Injury Prevention Research Center. Students from four area universities and eight smaller local colleges were surveyed about their driving habits. Approximately half of the students surveyed in this study also reported sending and reading text messages while operating a moving motor vehicle. The results of the survey are scheduled to be released at an upcoming press conference in front of the university’s Hillcrest Medical Center. Text messaging and talking on a handheld communication device while driving are both prohibited by law in the state of California.
As a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, I have seen the harm drivers can do when they stop paying attention to the task at hand. If you or someone you love has been injured in an automobile accident linked to an inattentive motorist, please consider contacting a Los Angeles car accident attorney.