Should You be Liable if Someone You Text Causes a Crash?
A judge rules on case where a woman texted her boyfriend and the boyfriend crashed while reading her text.
Photos
A new Pennsylvania law that went into effect in March says it's illegal to text while driving, but what about texting to someone who is driving?
Can you be held accountable for the actions of the person to whom you send the text?
What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.
A New Jersey judge says no. That was his ruling Friday in a case involving a couple who each lost a leg after their motorcycle was struck by a driver allegedly reading a text message. The judge dismissed the charges against Shannon Colonna, according to an AP report in the Washington Post.
According to the Daily Record, court records show that Kyle Best, who was 18 at the time, and his girlfriend, Shannon Colonna, exchanged numerous text messages on the day of the crash, including one sent just before he lost control of his pickup truck near Montville and struck a motorcyle ridden by David and Linda Kubert.
The Kuberts wanted to hold Colanna responsible for contributing to the crash, and have asked the judge to add her to the lawsuit.
Should a texter be held responsible for the actions of the person who receives the text message? Would it matter if the texter knew that the recipient was driving?
Bob Byrne
3:09 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
I'm wondering what everyone thinks...should the state legislature add some more "teeth" to PA's law by making the message senders liable in cases like this- or would that just be the "nanny state"gone too far? Would your opinion change if someone close to you were hurt or killed in an accident where texting played a role in distracting a driver?
Tim K
3:52 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
The sender should not be liable, litigation to prove the sender knew of the receiver's whereabouts would be a waste of the court's time. The simplest enforcement of this law is to hold the driver accountable for their actions. Distracted by the ringer when a text is received? Turn your phone to silent.
Marc
12:13 pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Agree 100%.
R. Rabin
7:43 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Sounds to me like some creative and optimistic lawyering on the part of the victims' attorney, who may have been hoping to find additional funds (i.e. the girlfriend's insurance policy) with which to compensate his clients for their tragic injuries. It doesn't make sense to hold the girlfriend responsible, but someone, somewhere, was bound to give this a try.
Paul J. Mullock
9:32 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Hard to believe that there is a judge left in this country who isn't a nitwit. And in New Jersey!!!!
RenterNow
7:24 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Guess the yes votes are either lawyers , people who don't have cell phones or they hit the wrong button!
Bill Ewing
11:40 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Count this lawyer among those who believe that the legislature should prohibit all use of handheld devices while driving -- whether texting or telephoning or browsing the web -- but the sender of the text message should not be liable for the stupidity of the nitwit who receives it and reads it while driving.
Carl D. Bennett
11:55 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
I sent you a letter. You had an accident while you were reading it. who is liable for your bad judgement?
Cathy Binder
2:16 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Until ESP is a proven fact I don't see how we can make this the texters fault. How do I know what you are doing when I send you a text?
Don't respond if you are driving. Talk about shooting the messenger.
Jim
3:40 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Go ahead America put junior in the the car seat, then go into WaWa grap a coffee. Get back into the driver seat drink your coffee drive and have a sambo at the same time, while your texting your freinds about your latest B.S. It will only hurt for a second, then kiss your butt goodbye and who ever you run into head on. It's a great country.
Jim Heck
6:26 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
absoutely not. because the person you are texting should be paying a tension to the road anyway, as you have NO control over over what that other person may or may not be doing.
Shirley
12:44 pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The recipient of the text should use more than common sense in any situation, be it driving (a distraction), at dinner with a group in a restaurant (a courtesy), on the landline with a potential employer (bye bye job!), etc. SILENT is an option; use it. Driving is an activity/routine/job that in no way calls for any type of multi-tasking; multi-tasking while driving is an accident in the making.
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