What Are Your Rights if You Were Injured in an Auto Accident Due to Texting While Driving
We have all heard about the dangerous of distracted driving. This has been the focal point of almost every DMV in each state, including New Mexico. This is because texting while driving is downright dangerous because you are taking your eyes off the wrong, attention away from driving, and one hand off the wheel. The statistics back up this information, as the NHTSA provides that in 2016 alone 3,450 people lost their lives in distracted driving auto accidents. Thus, it is estimated that 9 people are killed every day in the United States due to texting while driving. According to both sources above, taking your eyes off the road for even just 5 seconds at 55 MPH is like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed. This is why texting while driving auto accidents are so dangerous and deadly.
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or wrongfully killed in a New Mexico auto accident due to a driver who was texting, please call the Mark Caruso by dialing (505) 308-1556 to learn how we can help protect your rights to compensation.
It is Illegal to Text and Drive in New Mexico
As you may know, it is illegal to text and drive in New Mexico. Under New Mexico stat. section 66-7-374, “[a] person shall not read or view a text message or manually type on a handheld mobile communication device for any purpose while driving a motor vehicle, except to summon medical or other emergency help or unless that device is an amateur radio and the driver holds a valid amateur radio operator license issued by the federal communications commission.”
If a person violates this statute, they are not only breaking the law but also endangering many others on or around the roadway. Unfortunately, many times commuters coming through New Mexico may not know about this law and may violate the law. This includes truck drivers or trucking companies sending vehicles through the interstate exchange in Albuquerque between I-10 and I-25. But ignored or the law is not a defense, and these vehicles and drivers—while they should already know that they are acting dangerously—cannot use the defense they “didn’t know” as a defense.
Victims of New Mexico Auto Accidents Caused by Texting Can Use an Important Weapon
If a person has been injured in a New Mexico auto accident caused by a driver who was texting, the victim can use the violation of NM Stat. section 66-7-374 as a way to win a personal injury lawsuit. This is because the doctrine of negligence per se allows a victim to use the violation of a statute meant to protect the victim from a harm that the statute is meant to guard against, as an automatic finding of negligence against the violator. Said differently, New Mexico law is meant to protect other from texting while driving auto accidents. If someone violates New Mexico law and causes an auto accident which hurts a victim, that victim could use the violation of the statute as negligence to win his or her case.
This can be complicated, which is why victims should call the experienced Albuquerque auto accident lawyers at the Mark Caruso to help them. You may call us for a FREE consultation by dialing (505) 308-1556, or you can also contact us on our website through the easy to use and convenient Contact box located by clicking here.
