Is Arizona Safer Without a Texting While Driving Ban? | Legal News | News Ticker

Texting while driving has been a phenomenon that has been studied and reacted to all over the country. In fact, several states, including California, have enacted laws that ban this conduct because of studies that have indicated that paying attention to a hand-held device drastically increases the possibility that a car accident will occur. In a strange twist of irony, now comes word of a new study that looked at the states that have these laws that ban texting behind the wheel in effect, and as it turns out, these laws have little or no effect on the practice, on the car accident statistics that result from this practice or on the willingness of drivers to engage in this conduct.

Texting While Driving Ban Study – Surprising Results

Researchers Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) recently spent months studying the effects of these laws in states that have these bans and then compared the statistics regarding car accidents that occur while texting in those states to neighboring states that have not enacted these laws. California, for instance, was compared to Arizona car accident statistics, and shockingly, three out of four states that were studied not only showed no downturn in car accidents, but they actually increased after these bans went into effect. The results of this shocking study have experts reeling.

Reasons that These Laws Could Be Ineffective

When a study produces conclusions that no one expected, it often sends those in the know scrambling for explanations. One of the most prominent reasons offered by those who support these legal bans is that drivers are continuing to engage in this conduct, but instead of holding their hand-held devices within the line of vision of the road in front of them, they are concealing the devices on their laps, further drawing their eyes away from the road. Additional explanations involve drivers rushing to send messages and thereby drawing more attention to their devices as they believe that doing so will increase safety if not as much time is spent sending these text messages.

Regardless of whether a law is on the books or not, drivers who are distracted by text messages and cause Arizona car accidents are almost always found liable for injuries that are suffered by others. If this includes you or someone you love, contact the Arizona car accident lawyers at Phillips Law Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.