How Distracted Drivers Contribute to Personal Injury

With the rapid increase in smartphone users in and across the US, distracted driving has become a concern for traffic safety.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), in 2018, 2841 individuals died in car accidents due to distracted driving. However, approximately 276,000 people were injured in the same year because of distracted drivers, while distracted-affected property damage only collisions totaled 659,000.

Due to the carelessness and negligence of distracted drivers, others are at risk of suffering from severe personal injuries. Every day in the US, nearly nine people die, and over 1000 get injured in accidents reported to have a distracted driver. In 2018, accidents due to distracted driving cost the US around 40 billion dollars in damage.

What is Distracted Driving?

As the term suggests, this type of driving distracts the driver’s focus from the road with other activities. These activities can be anything that diverts your attention off the road. Different states across the US have different distracted driving laws. But if we talk about South Carolina in particular, it is one of the few states that doesn’t ban cell phone use or texting while driving.

However, the state of South Carolina has allowed cities to enact bans if needed. Thus, many municipalities have put local bans on distracted driving into effect. These include Camden, Walhalla, Clemson, Mount Pleasant, Columbia, Hilton Head Island, West Union, and Beaufort.

It is strictly prohibited to drive while texting in Beaufort County for all drivers. The state prohibits drivers under 18 from cell phone use including, hand-held or hands-free devices. First-time offenders shall face a $100 fine. Third-time offenders can face a $300 fine along with being arrested. These laws vary from cities and counties.

3 Types of Distractions While Driving

Distractions while driving can be classified into three different types. These are:

Visual Distractions

Visual distraction occurs when the driver takes their eyes off the road, even for a couple of seconds; it can put the driver and others driving on the road at risk of a crash. Did you know that at 55mph speed, if a driver takes their eyes off the road for reading or sending a message for about five seconds, this is as far as covering a football field?

Needless to say that a glance away from the road lasting more than 2 seconds increases the risk of accident or near-collision by two times that of normal driving.

Some examples of visual distractions include:

  • Looking at a passenger
  • Looking outside the window instead of looking ahead
  • Looking at the entertainment center or a GPS device

Manual Distractions

Anything can prompt the driver to take one or both hands off of the steering wheel. Some examples of manual distractions include:

  • Eating and drinking while driving. These are manual distractions because the driver physically uses their hands to grab a drink or take a bite of their food instead of firmly holding onto the steering wheel.
  • Smoking—although the number of smokers in the US has been on a decline for many years, there are still many people who smoke while driving. This activity falls under a manual distraction because the driver holds the cigarette in their hand for an extended period.
  • Tending to a Child—This is yet another distraction that puts drivers and their loved ones at risk of accidents. Sometimes drivers become distracted by tending to a child, such as feeding them while driving, putting on their seatbelts, or picking up their toys. It’s important to understand that no matter how bad of a tantrum a child throws in the car, the driver should not take their hands or eyes off the road because it can cause severe injuries to the child in case of a car collision.
  • Searching through a wallet or purse—Most adults carry their personal items in their purses and wallets, such as id cards, credit cards, mint, gum, and makeup. And sometimes, they use their hands to search through their bags for these items while driving. This act is hazardous as the driver may lose control of the vehicle when their hands are busy digging through the wallet or purse.

Therefore, to avoid such manual distractions while driving, switching off the cell phone and pulling over to handle a crying child or eating or drinking is advisable.

Cognitive Distractions

Cognitive Distractions, also known as mental distractions, distract the driver’s mind off the road and prevent them from safe driving. Though visual and manual distractions inherently involve cognitive distraction, the activities that fall under this category, in particular, are more mentally distracting than others.

These distractions are dangerous because it may seem like the driver is focused on the road, but the mind may have drifted off somewhere else. Thus, the driver, in reality, is not alert or attentive.

Let’s look at some examples to understand this better:

  • Using a speech to text system to receive and send text and email messages is a high level of cognitive distraction
  • Talking to another passenger in the car
  • Listening to a podcast or audiobook
  • Having a conversation on your hands-free device
  • Daydreaming

All these distractions pose a high risk of accidents, potentially resulting in severe injuries for other drivers. Injuries may include spinal damage, head injuries, neck and back injuries, whiplash, broken bones, and fractures.

head on collision between car and truck

Contact us today if you or a loved one has been injured in a severe car accident because of a distracted driver.

At the Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor P.C., our personal injury attorney can fight for you to recover full and fair compensation for injuries and losses incurred. We will help you through every step of the personal injury claim filing process to ensure that it goes smoothly and you were treated with justice.

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Notice of Data Security Event
Updated March 28, 2025

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor is providing notice of an event that may affect certain individuals’ information. Although we have no indication of identity theft or fraud in relation to this event, we are providing information about the event, our response, and additional measures individuals can take to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On October 28, 2024, The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor identified suspicious activity related to our email system. We quickly took steps to investigate and determined that an unknown actor may have accessed certain emails within our email system between August 7 and November 7, 2024. We then conducted a comprehensive review of the potentially affected emails and attachments to determine what information was contained therein and to whom the information related, which was completed on February 25, 2025. Unfortunately, we were unable to verify the addresses of certain affected individuals, so we are providing this notice to ensure potentially affected individuals receive information about the event.

What Information Was Involved? The information affected may include individuals’ Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID information, financial account number, and health information.

What We Are Doing. We are notifying individuals about this matter and providing guidance about free resources that are available to assist with monitoring relevant accounts, credit reports, and how to place a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit file. Further, as with our typical security practices, we will continue to evaluate our policies, procedures, staff training, and technical security measures to reduce the likelihood of an event like this reoccurring.

What Individuals Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the below “Steps Individuals Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information”.

For More Information. If individuals have questions about this matter, we have a dedicated assistance line with agents ready to answer their questions. Please contact our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., excluding holidays. You may also write to us at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, Attn: Compliance, P.O. Box 2688, Hickory, NC 28603.

Sincerely,

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor

STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/

https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event.
STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT A MINOR DEPENDENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Typically, credit reporting agencies do not have a credit report in a minor’s name. To find out if a minor has a credit report or to request a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number each credit bureau has its own process. To learn more about these processes or request these services, consumers may contact the credit bureaus by phone, writing, or online:
Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/request-child-credit-report/
https://www.experian.com/help/minor-request.html
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft

1-800-685-1111 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013 P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

To request information about the existence of a credit file in a minor’s name, search for a minor’s Social Security number, place a security freeze or fraud alert on a minor’s credit report (if one exists), or request a copy of a minor’s credit report consumers may be required to provide the following information:
● A copy of their driver’s license or another government issued identification card, such as a state identification card, etc.;
● Proof of address, such as a copy of a bank statement, utility bill, insurance statement, etc.;
● A copy of the minor’s birth certificate;
● A copy of the minor’s Social Security card;
● The minor’s full name, including middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.;
● The minor’s date of birth; and
● The minor’s previous addresses for the past two years.

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