A driver looking at a text may only take his or her attention away from traffic for a few seconds, but that can be enough time to miss a red light, drift from a lane, or fail to notice that traffic ahead has stopped. For someone injured in the resulting crash, one of the most important questions is often whether the other driver was using a phone at the time.
Texting while driving car accidents in Salt Lake City can involve evidence and liability issues that are different from those in other collisions. If you suspect the driver who hit you was texting, our local car crash attorneys can explain how phone use may be established and provide a sense of what comes next.
What Does Utah Say About Texting and Driving?
Utah law restricts several forms of manual electronic-device use while operating a moving motor vehicle. Among other things, drivers generally cannot manually write or send a text, instant message, or email or manually read those communications while driving.
The law also restricts activities such as manually dialing a phone number, accessing the internet, taking photographs, and recording or viewing video. Certain exceptions apply, including some emergency uses and hands-free or voice-operated technology.
A traffic violation and a personal injury claim are separate matters. However, evidence that a driver was texting while driving in Salt Lake City and caused an accident could be important to your civil claim.
Does Texting Automatically Make a Driver Responsible for a Crash?
Evidence of texting can be significant, but the fact that someone used a phone does not eliminate the need to establish how it contributed to the collision. For example, a driver may have been reading a message and failed to notice stopped traffic, crossed into another lane, or missed a traffic signal. Connecting the distraction to the driver’s actions helps establish why the collision happened.
Liability can become more complicated when the parties disagree about the events leading up to the crash. In claims involving texting while driving accidents in Salt Lake City, we can examine the available evidence rather than relying solely on the other driver’s account.
What Should You Avoid After a Texting and Driving Accident?
You do not need to prove at the crash scene that the other driver was texting. Avoid confronting the driver or making assumptions about facts you cannot yet verify. You should also be careful about giving an insurance company a detailed statement before you understand your injuries and the circumstances of the collision. What initially seems like a straightforward texting-and-driving case in Salt Lake City may involve disputed liability or questions about the extent of your injuries.
Keep records related to your medical care and the ways your injuries affect you. Information that seems insignificant shortly after a crash may become relevant as your claim develops.
Talk to Us About Texting While Driving Car Accidents in Salt Lake City
When another driver’s attention is on a phone instead of the road, you can be left dealing with the consequences. You deserve to understand what happened and what options you have for pursuing a claim.
At Valiente Mott Injury Attorneys, we stay connected with our clients throughout their personal injury cases. If you were injured in one of the many types of texting while driving car accidents in Salt Lake City, contact us to discuss what happened and how we can help.
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