The dangers of the road are numerous; however one of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States is distracted driving. In these cases, road users do not pay close enough attention to the road, and therefore they put others at risk. Distracted driving can include; texting while driving, talking on a handheld phone, reading emails or websites, eating, putting on make-up, adjusting stereo controls, and using the car’s sat nav controls. Even if you have the facilities to do this in your vehicle, it is still your responsibility to pay attention to your driving. Around 70% of drivers admit that they have talked on their cell phone while driving, with 31 percent of respondents stating that they do so regularly. 42 Percent have read a text or email while behind the wheel. It normally takes about 5 seconds to read a text message, which means that the driver has their eyes off of the road for 5 seconds. If they are travelling at just 55mph at the time, they would be able to travel the length of a football pitch before they started to concentrate on the road again! No matter how small the distraction is, distracted driving is dangerous driving. If an accident occurs because of this distraction, then the driver could be considered to be liable. This means that the driver or their insurance company will need to pay out for any damages or injuries which occurred as a result of that accident. Claims for negligence in distracted driving cases If you or one of your loved ones has been injured because another party was distracted while driving, then you could be able to make a claim for compensation. Time is crucial in these cases, due to the statute of limitations and the ability to collect all of the data that you need, therefore you must act soon. To learn more about your legal rights and responsibilities in a distracted driving claim, you should get in contact with a car accident lawyer.