Texting & Driving

We’ve all seen it. Someone swerving all over the road because they were texting or looking at Facebook. Sadly, hundreds of car accidents happen daily in Florida due to distracted driving, which is the leading cause of traffic accidents every. single. day.

Please don’t text and drive, it may not seem like a serious crime until you’ve hurt someone else. If you are the unfortunate victim of distracted driving, here are three main tactics I use that can prove you were the victim of distracted driving:

1. Cell Phone Records. If the at-fault driver was texting or otherwise on their cell phone, the best way to prove this is to subpoena their cell phone records. I’ve done this successfully many times to show the driver was on the phone or texting at the time of the accident. Cell phone records are a treasure trove of valuable evidence, but you have to request them early on so they are not destroyed.

2. Witnesses at the Scene. Many times, witnesses will have observed the driver on their phone. In one trial, a driver was swerving all over the road. A man and his teenage daughter drove up next to him and the father lectured his daughter on the risks of texting while driving. When they came upon the accident, the man left his information with our client and we called him at trial. This was powerful eye-witness testimony and likely swayed the jury in our favor.

3. Video footage. More and more frequently, I’ve seen drivers who witness someone driving distracted pull out their cell phones and start videotaping. In one recent case, we obtained a copy of the cell phone video and proved to the insurance company that their driver was texting while driving.

Please don’t text and drive. We have seen too many accidents as the result of this careless act. If you have been in a Florida car accident that you believe was caused by a distracted driver, call Tampa car accident lawyer Paul Rebein at 813-305-7285.