Cross-border personal injury due to distracted driving

According to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, the number of fatalities that result from distractions when driving exceeds the total number of impaired-related deaths on the province’s roads. The analysis provides no information about the number of cross-border personal injury claims that result from distracted driving; however, those that do arise could be challenging. Similar results have been reported from other provinces in Canada.

The ICBC report indicates that the average number of deaths related to the use of mobile devices every year is as high as 78. The accidents that lead to these fatalities are typically caused by texting, talking or any other use of a device while driving. In comparison, impaired driving causes an average number of 66 deaths per year.

The Attorney General of the province says fatal distracted driving accidents are entirely preventable, and authorities intend to take action to prevent them from happening. A pilot plan that involves the use of new technologies, along with a program to create awareness will kick off shortly. This will be a province-wide effort to make everybody part of the quest to keep drivers, passengers and others on the roads safe by keeping mobile devices out of reach while driving.

British Columbia residents who cross the border into the United States, or U.S. citizens visiting British Columbia may not realize how vulnerable they are to being victims of distracted driving crashes. Navigating cross-border personal injury claims can be challenging. For that reason, many victims of such accidents choose to seek the support and guidance of an attorney who handles those cases in which it is necessary to deal with the laws and insurance companies on both sides of the border.

Source: canadianunderwriter.ca, “Distracted driving results in more deaths in B.C. than impaired driving: ICBC“, Sept. 6, 2017