Text someone who's driving, and you may be liable...

strawman

strawman

A appeals court ruled that if you text someone while they're driving, and you know that they're driving, you may be liable for damages.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/us/new-jersey-texting-crash-sender-liable/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

In this case a teen driver drifted across the centerline while texting his girlfriend, ran head-on into a motorcycle severing the legs off both the driver and passenger of the motorcycle. While the criminal case showed the driver was guilty of the anti-texting laws in place, the victims filed a civil suit that also named the teenager who was texting to the driver. They had been having a text conversation over the last several minutes, and the driver called 911 within 17 seconds of the very last text he sent.

The court ruled against the victims, though, but only because the girl who was sending him texts did not know that he was driving. They did, however, state clearly that if she had she would share the blame and thus could be subject to civil lawsuits due to her actions.

I don't feel this is valid. A text message does not force a driver to take their eyes off the road, their hands off the steering wheel, or in any other way impair them. They receive an alert that they may choose to act on, but it's ultimately their choice.

Interesting case, nonetheless.
 
Shakey

Shakey

It's like blaming the radio stations for playing crappy music or commercials and making us change stations. They know a majority of their audience are driving. Maybe we should blame car manufacturers for putting the radios in the car to start with. It's just a distraction.
 
Gared

Gared

Let's not forget we need to blame fast food places for having drive-thru windows (they require you to be in a car to use them), since food is a distraction to drivers. Oh, and emergency response vehicles. Their lights and sirens are an obvious distraction. They should be fined any time someone is in an accident while driving near another accident or immediately before or after being passed by an emergency vehicle.
 
Gared

Gared

All road signs, actually. Especially since so many of us were conditioned by our parents to read just before going to bed at night, sign reading could be a major issue. They can contribute to car narcolepsy.
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

But these distractions (texting and talking on the cellphone) are killing people at a rate as high as Drunk Driving. But there really should not be any blame on the person sending the text. It needs to be up to the driver to ignore texts/calls until they can reply from a safe location.
 
Frank

Frank

sixpackshaker said:
But these distractions (texting and talking on the cellphone) are killing people at a rate as high as Drunk Driving. But there really should not be any blame on the person sending the text. It needs to be up to the driver to ignore texts/calls until they can reply from a safe location.
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Yeah, I think that distracted driving laws are too lax here myself, but it's on you not to answer your phone. A ticket isn't enough.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

From a devil's advocate view, if the person sending the text knows that the other person is driving (as would need to be evidenced in the texts themselves), doesn't that make them an accessory to the crime?
 
strawman

strawman

Is the girl on the corner wearing little to nothing waving a car wash sign liable if the driver of a car crashes because he's not paying attention to the road?
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Bowielee said:
From a devil's advocate view, if the person sending the text knows that the other person is driving (as would need to be evidenced in the texts themselves), doesn't that make them an accessory to the crime?
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No. Because the recipient has free will, and decides whether or not to look at the phone to read the text, and when.

If I'm sitting next to someone reading a magazine while they drive, and I say "You should really read this article," and they reach over and grab it and start reading it right then and there, I am also not responsible for the wreck we're assuredly about to experience.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Sloggi has actually been convicted in the past here in Belgium for distracting drivers. Of course, that was a few years ago, and they were purposefully making sure their advertisements, consisting of 4 or 5 women wearing only a thong, was in view from lights as much as possible.

Even so, it's since been explicitly stated in a new law that no, this doesn't count - it's the driver's responsibility to prioritize and to be attentive to the road instead of ads or naked women crossing the street or flying pigs.

Anyway, I think it's complete bullshit. I regularly get texts from m GF when she knows I'm on the road - "while you're at the store, can you pick up some milk as well?" and the like. Guess what? I read those at a red light or when I'm parked.
 
Tress

Tress

Bowielee said:
From a devil's advocate view, if the person sending the text knows that the other person is driving (as would need to be evidenced in the texts themselves), doesn't that make them an accessory to the crime?
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I can easily imagine a scenario where you send a text to a person driving, knowing full well that he/she is driving, so the message is there when they arrive at their destination. "I'm at the table on the far left" if you're meeting for dinner, for example. So I don't see how the sender should be held liable.
 
strawman

strawman

Keep in mind that this is a civil case, and you don't have to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" you just have to prove that someone's actions did result in a loss and they they should have known better.

I expect we'll eventually see a case where this is tested more directly, and I would be surprised if the texter was found liable. This case didn't necessarily say that she would have been liable if she had known, it merely suggested that might be the case. If she had known, then her defense would have been, "It's the driver's responsibility" but since she didn't know the "I didn't know" defense was easier.
 
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