Evidence Of Distracted Driving

For several years now, Rhode Island has prohibited motorists from texting while driving

. Given the increase in traffic tickets and lawsuits for texting while driving, consumers have asked our Pawtucket personal injury attorneys to find out how police officers know a driver committed this offense.

Direct Evidence

Evidence of distracted driving may sometimes be directly discovered by a policeman. Drivers will occasionally admit they were using their cellular phones or were otherwise distracted at the time of a collision. Other times, the police officer may notice an open phone in the front of the vehicle. If a Rhode Island police officer observes someone looking at their phone while operating a motor vehicle, there is a presumption that the motorist was texting.

Testimonial Evidence

Other times, a Pawtucket personal injury attorney can learn of a distracted driver by interviewing the negligent driver or other witnesses. Depositions can be extremely useful in these matters, since they give a Pawtucket personal injury attorney the opportunity to clarify that the distracted drivers use of a cellular phone was indeed negligent. For example, R.I. Gen. Laws 31-22-30 permits use of hands-free wireless handset, or use of a wireless handset while the vehicle is parked outside the flow of traffic. Written or oral interviews also give your Pawtucket personal injury attorney the opportunity to ask passengers of either vehicle whether the driver was looking down for a period of time while driving. Most importantly, such tools allow a Pawtucket personal injury attorney to develop information about the collision that can be used to prove either negligence or contradictions in a witness testimony that can be crucial to proving your claim.

Documentary Evidence

The most common way a Pawtucket personal injury attorney can prove a distracted drivers negligence is by obtaining a copy of the drivers cellular phone bill through a subpoena. Currently, the law has not granted people a privacy interest in their cellular phone bills. This is an extension of the third party doctrine, which states that information held by a third party, such as phone bills and other business records, are not protected by the same expectations of privacy as other communications.

Examples

In Gutierrez v. Franklin, 03-CV-2010-900732, an Alabama jury awarded a $13 million verdict against a 21-year-old college student who paralyzed a man by crashing into the rear of his truck. The womans cellular phone bill showed one incoming and one outgoing text message at the time of the collision. This huge jury verdict was solely for compensatory damages, deemed necessary to pay the paralyzed mans hospital bills and other lifetime expenses.

Another example is the conviction of Aaron Deveau for motor vehicle homicide for texting while driving in Massachusetts. Mr. Deveaus phone bill showed over 200 text messages were sent and received that day, including two deleted text messages following the crash. Showing Mr. Deveau lied about these deleted texts helped the prosecutor ultimately convince the jury of Mr. Deveaus negligence.

by: Mike Bottaro

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