Cell Phone Violations and Crashes

Now that the enforcement on cell phone violations have moved to include text messaging in California, even more discussion is taking place over this controversial subject. Although the fines for these infractions are not that great, the attention, studies and statistics are growing.  There is also an aspect to cell phone use and cell phone violations that most drivers do not realize. This aspect is what can happen to the cell phone driver if there is an accident. 

As reported by the LA Times:
"Violations of a safety law would be powerful evidence of liability," said David Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel of the American Insurance Assn. "You could draw an analogy to drunk-driving laws or the speed limit."

Insurers would still cover losses, unless future policies exclude drivers using hand-held cellphones, Snyder said. Afterward, they will be greeted with sharply higher insurance rates, he said.

Michael Maguire, a State Farm attorney in Southern California, said the law could lead jurors to give out more awards and higher damages, even though they are supposed to compensate accident victims only for their actual costs, such as medical care and lost income.

"A jury should not be punishing somebody for a negligent act. That's what punitive damages are for," Maguire said.

It's doubtful, Maguire said, that cellphone use rises up to California's tough standard for awarding punitive damages, which includes conduct that is "so despicable that it would offend the common decency of society." But juries can be unpredictable.

A Google search proves to be all the supporting information needed for someone to understand recently enforced cell phone laws in California.  Check out these Google

News Search Results (as of March 2009) for the term Cell Phones Crashes:

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