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You’ve seen Pixar’s Cars? (the original. Not this summer’s third installment that was good, but certainly not Cars 1 good). While the main drive is the characters, action and laughs for kids, the movie is really about slowing down and staying focused. We live in a culture that demands efficiency, whose personality changed when it introduced straight-shot interstate highways. But, in Cars we’re reintroduced to the nostalgia of lively towns, the comfort of simple friendships, and the glory of spectacular sights. We’re encouraged to value the more important things we often trade away in a quest for whatever is newer, faster and more fulfilling.

My dad watches Cars regularly in his 60’s. Not just because it connects him with his grandsons (he uses it as an excuse) but, it connects him to the narrative that is found in a memory that is slowly fading. It’s fuel for his ability to fight against the constant pursuit of information and entertainment. And not only that but, it protects him from an addiction that makes him eager to pull out his phone when he’s sitting around with family, or worse, when he cruising down the mundane lanes of every day life and willing to wreck more than just his own car or life, but someone else’s too.

The positive and negative sides of the narrative.

For the large part, the campaign against distracted driving is hamstrung relying on statistics, scare tactics and extra patrols. Fear is like a cold bucket of water. It’s shocking at first until you dry and go back to being comfortable. That’s why I think about Cars. We need a promise of something positive, something better, something applicable in every instance. Not just for driving, biking, hiking and walking (all places we hear stories of accidents we shake our head at.) We need something to impact our hearts with fear, sure, but also with that kind of constant reminder that all the time spent on our phones is a substitute for much more satisfying, prudential rewards; even the simple pleasure of observing what’s around us and stopping to smell the roses.

We want to help you if you’ve been hit by someone who was texting. Likewise, we want to help you know the consequences of injuring someone due to neglect. Being aware of what happens, and can happen is part of the narrative that shapes us because sadly, we live in a bored culture marked by a sense of invincibility and a diminishing value for our neighbors. But, I also want to remind you to keep focused on the positive. Every time you leave your phone in your purse or pocket and pay attention to where you are, it may not give you the same chemical rush but it leaves you satisfied like a good, long conversation.

The Cost of Driving Distracted.

When cars collide there aren’t too many occasions that leave all parties walking away unscathed. Aside from the vehicles themselves, the more precious and expensive part is our health and our livelihood. And this is what we risk paying for either with our own, or for the party we hit when we’re at fault. Every time we drive we need to consider the financial implications of our transportation, and consider the distractions that increase the likelihood of an incident. Someone always pays, and it’s only a matter of time if you’re in the habit of distracted driving before you run out of luck.

“The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) shows that at any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.  According to separate NHTSA data, more than 3,300 people were killed in 2011 and 387,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.”

— US Department of Transportation, 2013

We represent car accident victims caused by distracted drivers on an all too regular basis. These drivers are liable to lose everything. We don’t want that to be you whether at fault or a victim of someone else’s addiction. When a negligent driver strikes someone or something, they pay for it. And the cost can be in the millions of dollars (1), up into the tens of millions of dollars. It can also result in jail time (2).

Our Plea.

Slow down! and pay attention! Look at the transformation of Lightning McQueen and let it go from a cute children’s story to something that actually reinvigorates the reason you live, that gives you fuel for living according to the values that drive you every day. Today is a new day, and you won’t regret the simple pleasures that actually make up a well lived life. Something you can never get on your phone.

We’ll care for you if you’ve been impacted by someone who was texting and driving. So get a free consultation today. And drive safe! You want us on your side of the table!

1 – http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/LK/20140819/News/605072538/DN/

2 – http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/06/justice/massachusetts-texting-trial/index.html