Texting While Driving Continues to Cause Tragedies

A jury has found a 42-year-old man guilty of vehicular manslaughter in connection with a fatal Orange County car accident in August 2008, which left 32-year-old Martha Ovalle dead. Martin Kuehl was accused of texting while driving and the jury found him guilty of one felony count, consenting with prosecutors that the fatal accident was caused by just "more than ordinary carelessness." Kuehl was sending text messages moments before he struck Ovalle who was walking in a marked crosswalk at a Newport Beach intersection. Kuehl now faces up to nine years in prison.

Distracted Driving is a Real Problem

The jury verdict in this tragic Newport Beach car accident comes during the same week when federal officials issued a ruling banning texting while driving for commercial vehicles. Several enforcement agencies are waking up to this very real danger on our roadways. A lot of us do it. We talk on hand-held cell phones or check e-mail or text when we're driving. Thousands continue to do it in spite of the fact that it is against California law to text and drive.

Distracted Driving Laws and Statistics

California Vehicle Code Section 23123.5 (a) states: "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send or read a text-based communication." That includes writing, sending or reading any type of text communications such as e-mail or instant messaging.

When it comes to distracted driving -- be it the use of hand-held cell phones or texting while driving -- the statistics are very telling. Driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal car accidents in 2008 according to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million suffered personal injuries. A University of Utah study reported that using a cell phone or texting while driving delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Do Not Text and Drive

Especially when you are texting, you have to take your eyes off the road. Texting and driving is simply not worth it. If you have an emergency while on the road and must communicate with someone, pull over to the side of the road. Distracted drivers continually put their own lives and the lives of others on the roadway at risk, as evidenced in this Newport Beach case.

We are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call a reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free confidential consultation to "not a fault" persons named in this article and their family members.