Driver Distraction Can Be Fatal
Driver distraction is a common but often fatal mistake. On June 4, 2010, five motorcyclists, near St. George, Utah, reportedly were injured when a passenger vehicle struck a guard rail on Interstate 15 then spun back into traffic. According to the Spectrum newspaper, “Two of the motorcyclists suffered road rash, two were transported to University Medical Center in Las Vegas by ambulance and the fifth was airlifted to the medical center with life-threatening head trauma.” A “Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Joseph Fackrell said . . . the driver of the passenger car . . . would at least be charged with failure to stay in one lane.” According to the latest news, the driver who caused this unfortunate accident, “allegedly was distracted by an accident that had occurred moments before on the northbound side of the interstate near mile marker 109.”
In Utah, a driver of a car, truck or other motor vehicle has a duty to use reasonable care to avoid injuring others. “Reasonable care” is what a reasonably careful person would do in a similar situation. When we are driving, we must keep our car under reasonable control and we must drive it in a manner so as to avoid danger to ourselves or others. While driving, we have a duty to keep a proper lookout for other traffic and hazards that can be reasonably anticipated.
To protect ourselves and others from unnecessary harm, let’s all remember to be more careful and attentive while we are driving. Far too many lives are shattered because of careless or inattentive drivers.
