The first study of text messaging by semi truck drivers — which involved the outfitting of long-haul truck cabs with video cameras for a period of 18 months — found that when truck drivers sent text messages, their semi-truck accident risk increased 23 times when compared to not texting.

Sending text messages while driving increased the chances of a semi truck accident significantly in this study on truck drivers.

As car accident attorneys, we know that distracted drivers are more likely to be involved in a car crash.  Driving is a skill that requires your full attention.  If you take your eyes off the road, you will not likely be able to prevent a car accident that you normally could have avoided.  Since semi truck accidents are more likely to lead to wrongful death, a distracted, text-message sending truck driver is putting a lot of people at risk.

When measuring the time drivers take their eyes off the road when texting, the study found that in the moments before a semi truck crash or near crash,  truck drivers had typically spent about five seconds looking at their cell phones — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover the length of a football field.  By the time these truck drivers look up, he or she could of already caused a significant auto accident that led to the traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury of an innocent driver, who was could have been driving safely.

Even though trucks take longer to stop and are less maneuverable than regular cars, researchers believe that these findings apply to all drivers who have the same texting-while-driving habits as the 100 truckers studied.  Even though texting while driving is illegal in several states, many car drivers spent precious moments diverting their attention to their cell phone — often just before a preventable auto accident.

The best car insurance policy that you can have for texting and driving is to not do it at all.  How important could that text message really be?

As semi-truck accident lawyers, we hope that you are know that when a semi truck collides with a passenger vehicle, serious injuries and wrongful deaths are often the end result of these auto accidents.  So why not wait until you are safely off the road to send a text message rather than risking your life and other driver’s lives as well?

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced car accident attorney to find out how we may help you.  We look forward to providing good advice to help you make smart decisions about your case in either English or Spanish.