Lexington Injury Lawyer Frank Jenkins Joins State, National Campaign Against Distracted Driving

 Lexington, KY, April 13, 2012 — Lexington personal injury lawyer Frank M. Jenkins III said today that he supports the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety’s effort to promote distracted driving awareness and the “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All” campaign.

“Distracted driving and, in particular, texting while driving represent a terrible trend that needs to be fought at all levels of society,” said Jenkins.

“Young drivers especially need to understand that taking their eyes off of the road for even a few seconds to use a cell phone can have disastrous consequences,” he said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that in 2009 alone nearly 5,500 people were killed and a half million more were injured in distracted driving crashes. That same year, 20 percent of crashes resulting in injuries involved reports of distracted driving.

April is national Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) is taking part in “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All,” which is a NHTSA initiative.

The KOHS is running public service announcements online and on TV as part of the campaign. It is also encouraging schools to promote the “no texting while driving” pledge available on the KOHS website’s homepage.

“This country joined together with campaigns that made using a seatbelt second nature for most people and that turned public opinion against driving after drinking,” Jenkins said. “We can do the same with distracted driving and texting while driving.”

New laws are dealing with the distracted driving trend as well, Jenkins said, just as laws pertaining to seatbelt use and drunk driving were strengthened several years ago.

A ban on texting by all drivers took effect in Kentucky in July 2010. State law also bans the use of all personal communications devices by drivers younger than 18.

Jenkins said anyone hurt in a car crash involving distracted driving of any kind should seek legal assistance.

“The law is on your side, and public opinion is increasingly on the side of people who are hurt by those who engage in distracted driving activities,” the veteran personal injury attorney said.

“Distracted driving is a reckless act on the part of the driver, and those who are harmed by it have a right to be made whole financially,” Jenkins continued. “Holding distracted drivers accountable for the harm they cause is another way to fight this deadly driving trend.”