Minnesota Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer

At Fay & Associates, LLC , our lawyers have more than 40 combined years of personal injury litigation experience. We understand how to build strong, successful negligence claims, and we never back down from a fight when it comes to helping our clients get the settlements they deserve.

We provide dedicated and experienced legal representation to individuals who have been hurt or have lost loved ones in accidents involving distracted drivers. We handle cases involving all causes of distracted driving and use creative strategies to effectively serve and represent our clients’ interests. We will go the distance to help you and your family obtain the maximum possible compensation available for your damages.

How We Build a Strong Distracted Driving Claim

• When pursuing a case against a distracted driver, it’s beneficial for victims to have an experienced legal advocate on their side who will stand up for their rights and help them build a strong case. Here’s an overview of what this involves and how it plays out on our end.
• An Investigation – We gather all evidence that suggests the driver was, indeed, distracted at the time of the collision.
• Collecting Relevant Crash Records – This can include traffic accident reports, medical records, witness statements, and more.
• Negotiating on Your Behalf – We handle all conversations and negotiations with the insurance company to get you the best settlement possible.
• Filing Court Documents & Representing You in Court – If an out-of-court settlement can’t be reached, we’re ready and able to represent you in court to fight for your rights and the compensation you need.

What Percentage of Car Accidents Are Caused by Distracted Driving?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2,841 people lost their lives due to distracted driving collisions in 2018 alone.

That averages out to about eight people losing their lives due to distracted driving every day. It’s a shocking statistic that continues to rise, but you can help to slow the rise of these terrible accidents in your own life by doing your best to eliminate distractions when you’re behind the wheel!

Types and Causes of Distracted Driving

Are you thinking that you’re a safe driver, and that other drivers are the ones causing dangerous accidents by texting, calling, or doing other things while driving?

Think again, reports the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Distracted driving accidents are rising so fast that you’re just as likely to receive serious crash-related injuries from a collision with a single vehicle than if you’re an innocent victim of a two-car accident.

Being a safe driver means keeping your phone in your glovebox or in a “do not disturb” holder whenever you drive. These actions provide good practices to follow any time you’re behind the wheel, so make an everyday habit of it!

Ways Distracted Driving Accidents Can Happen

Despite the ongoing – and widespread – campaigns created to educate the public about the serious risks of distracted driving, this is still happening, leading to more accidents, horrific injuries, and permanent cognitive impairments, or even paralysis, in those who survive but end up suffering disastrous injuries.

What are the specific types and causes of accidents claimed to be related to distracted driving here in Minnesota?

Reports find over half of all crashes involve only one vehicle. Some 80 percent of crashes involve driver inattention, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) official 2019 road safety campaign.

Driver Behaviors and Types of Distracted Driving Accidents in Minnesota

The statistics seem to indicate that more and more accidents linked to distracted driving behaviors are occurring. Largely due to more people on the road and using smartphones and other technological distractions, distracting behaviors have been linked to multiple crash-causing behaviors.

This includes driver error, by far one of the most common distracting behaviors and prevalent accident causes of distracted driving in Minnesota and the United States. Largely due to the causal relationship between the two, our personal injury attorneys here at Fay & Associates, LLC in Minneapolis have successfully represented many different types of victims in claims linked to driver errors.

Driver Behavior and Vehicle Typologies in Crash Causes

The four types of driver behaviors and vehicle typologies that crash-cause one-vehicle accidents and two-vehicle collisions that are most frequently linked to driver distraction also include five basic categories, which are:

• Driver distractions
• Driver errors in decision-making and attention
• Driver decision errors
• Driver performance failures
• Driver poor attention or a lack of attention

Distracting Women vs. Distracted Men on the Road

The data, including the latest report released on Father’s Day, shows that distracted women get into more fatal one-vehicle accidents than distracted men, but crashes caused by males are more likely to involve other parties.

The correlation is mainly due to the ongoing neurophysiological differences found between males and females in Minnesota and across the country. However, it’s a serious problem for everyone on the road.

Male or female, your risks for causing an accident while driving with distractions that can too easily divert your attention from the roadway, such as texting while driving, talking on the phone or other related causes of driver inattention or other distractions, are proven to go up if your vehicle comes equipped with the latest apps and high tech systems built into many newer vehicles.

These applications can, and often do, offer immediate driver diagnostic information if there’s a problem.

Unfortunately, these dashboard-mounted systems are more likely to distract your eyes from the roadway than you might realize, and they do cause an increase in distracted driving accidents and similar tragedies.

For now, the psychological and mental links between these dashboard-mounted driver screening applications, and the higher risks for one-two vehicle and serious and fatal vehicle crashes they pose in the pilot study involving vehicle apps and the potential for driver error, are still under review.

Other Common Forms of Distractions Behind the Wheel

Some of the other more easily identifiable common forms of distracted driving accidents in the United States and Minnesota include:

• Texting, cell phone use, and other “intelligent” technologies – Texting and the use of other infotainment and personalized or personalized onboard technologies remain one of the most common causes of distracted driving and driver-caused accidents every year, despite ongoing government, educational, and safety campaigns against this now prohibited and obviously dangerous behavior. Minnesota and other states have banned all handheld cell phone use – whether it’s for texting or having a conversation – and other forms of using a phone held in the driver’s hand while driving. However, this behavior remains a leading cause of near-misses and accident causes, as many drivers continue to enjoy these handheld cell phone use and other forms of engaging activity while driving, and, even though other motor vehicle use is allowed, hands-free technology use is a problem for other reasons, to be discussed further down.
• “Daydreaming accidents,” or driver inattention or implicit inattention – In the latest NHTSA study, results show that some 70% of all motor vehicle accidents are caused by implicit or driver inattention, which all forms of distraction can be attributed to, whether it’s daydreaming accidents or using your cell phone and not paying attention to the road. This will be discussed more later, but this “implicit inattention” could account for so many of the injuries and deaths in the “one or driver vehicle only” crashes seen statewide.
• Driver intoxication – Driving under the influence continues to play a significant role in one-two car crashes in Minnesota and throughout the United States. Although there has been some success in reducing the drunk driving death rates in the past several years, Minneapolis personal injury lawyers and various insurance corporations have sadly made little or no progress in increasing the overall state of awareness of the issues. the dangers of drugged or drunk drivers on local roads and freeways, as the trends for one and several vehicle fatalities linked to these repeat DUI events continue to rise every year.
• Above average speed – Most people know as drivers in Minnesota or anywhere in the country that you won’t drive faster than posted speed limits and that you should also not exceed speed limits due to construction or poor weather. conditions. However, thousands of drivers will continue to drive at speeds exceeding normal limits and cause one or several motor vehicle accidents in the event of a fatal collision with another vehicle or a non-vehicle object when their vehicle reduces the speed at which it pushes back after a collision. Simply putting your vehicle in gear and making an unnecessary attempt to maintain control at or above the posted speed limit in road by land jurisdiction. can quickly cause serious bodily injury to other vehicles, pedestrians and the parked cars along the roadway. Excessive speed has proven to be both an anti-social and unsafe driving behavior, which can all too easily put decreased or increased speeds on our road network.
• Cargo pushing – Certainly, a very common cause of road crashes that result in head-on collisions with other vehicles or collisions with stationary or in-motion objects would include potential causes that a motorist may want to avoid, in order to to prevent their occurrence. from this form of accident or injury. Some of these most common causes of this type of motor vehicle accident in Minnesota and throughout the country include everything from the previous discussed aggressive speeds to distracted driving-related errors, ongoing road conditions, and driver time-relative conditions. speed.five attributes:

Implicit Inattention Prevention and Saftey Tips

Some common causes of one-car or driver-only vehicle accidents and similar, often highly dangerous, motor vehicle accidents that lead to head-on-collisions with other vehicles, accidents, or the result. other types of injuries and often the fact. occur on busy or dangerous roads where a prohibited waiting time is important in preventing accidents.

Road conditions may also play a major role in these car vehicle accidents. These include anything from agitated or briefly missing traffic signals and motor vehicle stop signs at all intersections, busy intersections where right turn waving or blinking signs indicate a pause, on busy roads or roads with lighting signals or forest signs. right-of-way. Additionally, other busy motorist traffic and road conditions are all important and must be considered as potential causes linked to injury prevention or motor vehicle safety issues.

While there was some confusion in the original report about whether driver error or other related causes of driver distraction were the problem, new data seems to argue that the issue is still likely to continue driving with their attention to the road and all the vehicles on that road. can significantly decrease these types of crashes that seem to cause one or only the death of a driver. In short, a high percentage of all one-vehicle accidents can be attributed to driver behavior that is seemingly related to distraction, attention deficit, impulse formation, or a combination of the two, intentional driving, or poor driver attention.

Contributory Factors in Distracted Driving Accidents

Other top distracted driving accident contributors and significant factors include the following:

• Multitasking – This is, of course, a driver-attention inattention standard, and studies have shown that humans cannot perform multi-tasking. The human brain can’t blast this, so focusing on two different types of motor vehicle tasks for two vehicle types – simple driving and lane merge, for example, or simply staying aware in your lane without running through a red traffic light – can quickly cause the opposite affect and put drivers on the road, in motor vehicle lanes or vehicle observance lines. running through red traffic signs and causing serious, fatal vehicle-trailers.
• Engaging in other activities while driving – Drivers who eat, drink, or even apply makeup while driving – or who attempt any other non-driving-related activities while at the wheel – have been significantly more likely to crash their vehicles. When prompted about driving-related “accidents” or “things to do in the driver’s seat,” about 40% of Americans typically indicate the habit of eating or drinking while driving. This habit compounds the habit of eating and driving at the same time with a whole range of additional risks for driver and other injuries and the unique risks associated with eating and driving can quickly increase due to typical food eating behaviors and process-related educational barriers of the. the person driving and the person in the front seat of the vehicle underway for about an hour. In long-term slide tests and surveys that include behind-the-wheel driving safety studies, regarding the safety of both drivers and long-term communications to other drivers in the area, sharing your Include the number of bad habits. From distracted distracted driving to poorly timed traveling, all of these are at risk. the same time you are eating or drinking in your car. Statistics indicate that some 12% of all drivers in the United States admit to eating while driving. This driving habit is usually most prevalent in male drivers in the 18-35 year old and current brake driving days on main road networks and freeways, but in trucking operations, where long drives are the norm. Additional short and long-term education interventions, combined with research on safe driving and other communications, can help influence both drivers under the influence of this poorly defined driving habit – and most younger and older drivers – to ensure future road safety for both your own drivers and the other car pool drivers on all the busy roads of our country.

• Switching between different types of infotainment systems – This can also significantly increase the risk of distracted driving accidents, as drivers can end up being more focused on their vehicle’s systems and what’s in their rearview – usually displayed on one dashboard screen or another – than on the roads ahead and on the other drivers.
• Those who commute to work by car are more likely to be in a distracted driving accident, said nearly 80% of the population. By definition, this implies that every work trip is an “earning the top thing,” which is a textbook definition of millennial, meaning any risk. The easiest and most obvious way to avoid the total negative effects of this dangerous driver lifestyle trend or repeat it in the future. The ability to do this every day while traveling to and from work – often for long distances over several years or even years – can begin as a relatively inconsequential attempt to manage stress, stay familiar or comfortable, or explore business trends, but can end in serious as well. life threatening car accidents.
• Obstructed driving and other related visual obstructions – Passing driving tips and interactive driver safety course advice from various state motor vehicle divisions, police departments, and state departments of transport tells us to avoid the top 30 to 40% of all obstruction-filled driving trips that could lead to avoidable accidents. Some of the most common objects that could obstruct the driver’s view of the vehicle only by road in the front or rear include:
• Both of these so-called “blinds” can be avoided. Making it a habit to look in the direction of a steep 180 degree climb before overtaking on a two-lane road, and similar blind spots forward and rear on a traditional four-lane highway, can help mitigate the hazard in an instant. Also, avoid following too closely to the car in front of you or biking behind another vehicle of any type when driving on busy highways, where it’s all too common for objects to enter the roadway, hit your window or windshield, and temporarily obscure your vision. . doing it for just a few seconds by taking your attention off the road for a few moments.

In addition to the above, a driver’s action to try and multitask while driving is a classic definition of bad driving practices. This is because a driver’s mind is often divided between the task of driving, steering, and looking forward as to other tasks or personal concerns on paper, like traveling to work or listening to music on the vehicle’s music system. This has been shown to cause crashes due to slow response times or not responding to a crash-causing event that was detectible and/or avoidable had the driver’s attention been on the road instead of otherwise.

Accidents Occurring Alone or with Distracted Drivers

As we have discussed there are multiple ways drivers can become distracted while behind the wheel. Now let’s take a look at how accidents occur from distracted drivers when they are alone.

• Hitting an object – Those who are checking their mirrors, playing with the infotainment system, eating, or doing anything other than driving-related tasks are more likely to hit a non-moving object that’s on the roads or nearby, such as a parked car, mailbox column, or retaining wall near the road or highway. . Crashes caused by drivers who hit a nonmoving object – which happens to be standing on the road, such as a traffic light pole, a signpost near the road, or a