San Diego Car Accident Lawyer Blog

San Diego County is among the many counties in California that see drivers continue to ignore the hands-free cell phone law. California made it illegal to talk on a handheld phone device while driving last year on July 1, 2008, but drivers cannot seem to comply. The amount of car drivers being cited seems to grow more and more each month, especially in San Diego, despite the amount of authorities on the lookout for it.

Many motor vehicle owners adapted to the law by getting earpieces such as Bluetooth-enabled headsets to connect to their phones, yet California Highway Patrol wrote 12,596 tickets statewide last month for cell phone and texting-while-driving violations, a record since the laws have been effective. San Diego itself grabbed a record in May with 994 violations, as opposed to 300 last August when the city start fully enforcing the law. For more information about San Diego cell phone while driving violators, you may want to read this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

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Two Santa Barbara women were seriously injured in a car accident on Highway 154 west of San Antonio Creek Road in Santa Barbara County when the driver of the vehicle took her attention away from driving to retrieve her cell phone.

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The vehicle containing the two women landed on its roof after driving off the road and a 30 foot embankment.

The accident happened when Miriam Duarte of Santa Barbara heard her cell phone ring and she leaned over to pick it up. When she did so, her vehicle drifted off the road and down the embankment. Both Ms. Duarte and her passenger were trapped upside down until they could be freed by members of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Sheriff's Department.

The two were transported to the hospital and, luckily, only suffered lacerations and complaints of pain.

The Jurewitz Law Group wants to remind everyone that inattention is the number 1 cause of car accidents--even more of a factor than alcohol or speed. Cell phones and other distractions greatly lead to inattention. Please remember that your duty as a driver is to safely drive your vehicle. Leave the distractions alone.