Who’s At Fault in a Car Accident? A Guide to Liability in Ohio
Posted in: Car Accidents
KNR Legal Blog
A young driver from Akron moved his hand from the steering wheel to a smartphone to send a text. In that moment, his car sailed past a stop sign, bounced off of a curb and then smashed into a Chrysler. The young driver just laughed.
A callous, reckless youth? No, just an 11-year-old middle school student at the wheel of a driving simulator on loan from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The car accident wasn’t real; no one was injured and no damage was done in the crash of pixels.
The students were from the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) school, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. And they were there to test not only their skills in the simulator, but also to learn about the physics of texting: how far a motor vehicle moves while a driver is looking at a phone and not at traffic. And then, what sorts of vehicular violence can happen during those moments.
Of course, in the safety of a simulator, the world is like an Xbox game. No damage is done. Just hit Reset and try again to text while driving. In the real world, real people get really hurt by drivers more interested in their text messages than in traffic conditions. The injuries are sometimes relatively minor — just a sprain or a scrape or two — and sometimes the injuries last a lifetime.
Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, crushed or perforated organs, and so on, can forever change the injury victim’s life. They might have to go through multiple surgeries, months or even years of physical rehabilitation and become accustomed to getting about in a wheelchair rather than on their own two legs.
We’re glad to see the Ohio Department of Transportation reaching out to young people to teach them valuable lessons about the dangers of distracted driving. Hopefully, one day soon the accidents caused by inattention will start to drop.
If you have been injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you pursue full and fair compensation. Please see our Distracted Drivers page for more information about how Kisling, Nestico & Redick can help you.