• Ferguson
• June 16, 2021

According to statistics quoted by www.wsfa.com, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more that 480 people were killed in Jefferson County Alabama alone in the time period 2009 – 2013. Montgomery county to the south had 134 fatalities. Madison County was third overall in the state for traffic fatalities. In all of Alabama for that time frame, 4322 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents.

Distracted driving has now become the number one cause motor vehicles accidents in Alabama, followed by speeding, and then driving under the influence. Officials say that most of the fatalities were not wearing their seat belts. Www.wsfa.com interviewed Cpl. Jess Thorton of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency who stated “One of the worst parts of being an Alabama State Trooper is working a fatal crash and seeing just a sudden loss of life that could have been prevented,” he said, “and then having to notify that next of kin that their loved one is not coming home.” Cpl Thorton also stated that it is not only the responsibility of the driver to wear a seat belt, but also to “make sure that everyone else is buckled in as well.”

Currently seat belt laws are enforced lightly, as only a secondary offense with a $25 fine and only front seat passengers and those under 15 years old are required to wear them. According to www.drivinglaws.org, Alabama in 2012 passed a law banning texting while driving and this includes all drivers. Novice drivers, ages 16 and 17, with an intermediate license for less than six months are also banned from all cell phone usage. But while texting and driving is a primary law, meaning a police officer can pull someone over for texting, the penalty is only $25 for a first offense, and two points on one’s driver’s license, hardly enough of a penalty to either force police to take action or to dissuade a youngster from making and taking phone calls and sending and receiving text messages while driving.

Our blog on www.fergusonferguson.com is full of stories of young drivers who have been killed or injured in a motor vehicle accident in Alabama while not wearing a seat belt and while being suspected of texting or talking on a cell phone. If you have been injured or have had a loved one killed by the negligence of a distracted driver in Alabama, you need to talk to an experienced Alabama personal injury lawyer to see if you have a case against the driver and his/her insurance company. Call us today at Ferguson and Ferguson.