Georgia Court Awards No Punitive Damages for Accident Involving Cell Phone Use.
Our office is situated at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in Atlanta, which provides a snapshot of some of the worst traffic patterns in America. Distracted drivers make traffic patterns worse and the roads more dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) 20% of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. Cell phones are the distraction of choice, as drivers often overlook the duties and obligations they owe to fellow drivers. Georgia allows "proper use" of cell phones while driving and the Georgia Legislature recently passed The Caleb Sorohan Act for Saving Lives by Preventing Texting While Driving, making it illegal to use "a wireless telecommunications device to write, send, or read any text based communication, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, e-mail, or Internet data."
The Georgia Court of Appeals got involved in this issue last month when it did not award punitive damages (intended to punish the wrongdoer) to a couple suing over an accident caused by a driver on his cell phone. The driver at fault owns and operates a glass installation company, a job that requires him to be in his truck for eight to ten hours a day, prompting him to install a desk within his "mobile office." The distracted driver was looking up a number on his cell phone when his "mobile office" struck another vehicle causing $50,000 in damages, not including future surgeries planned for one of the victims.
As explained by the Court of Appeals, Georgia law allows punitive damages in an auto wreck case "when the accident results from a pattern or policy of dangerous driving, such as excessive speeding or driving while intoxicated, but not when a driver simply violates a rule of the road." Driving while intoxicated is a awful crime but studies have shown that using a cell phone while driving delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
The maximum penalty for texting while driving is $150, not much of a deterrent considering the unlikelihood of getting caught. The Supreme Court of Georgia will have a final say on the issue of awarding punitive damages if the case mentioned above comes up on appeal.
The issue of deterring drivers from using their cell phones is getting more and more important as smart phones are only getting smarter. Drivers can now control their music, update their Facebook status, shop online, check scores to any game and play scrabble with friends around the world thanks to iPhone, Android and Blackberry software. The Georgia Supreme Court has an opportunity to send a clear message to drivers statewide by awarding punitive damages if they decide to review the case. Cell phones are a great way to stay connected to whatever an individual finds important, but most communications can wait until a driver reaches their destination. Negligent use of a cell phone should never be as important as protecting fellow drivers and pedestrians.
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