NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — The month of April has been designated as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Keith Williams, Founder, Keith Williams Law Group, is urging those who have been injured or whose loved one has been injured or killed as the result of another’s distracted driving to obtain legal assistance as soon as possible.

 National Distracted Driving Awareness Month is held every April to help educate drivers on the dangers of being distracted behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), at least nine people are killed and hundreds are injured each day as a result of drivers taking their eyes off a road — even for a few seconds. That amounts to approximately 3,500 deaths a year. The NHTSA also found distracted driving to be the main cause of 8%-9% of all vehicular crashes annually.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, distracted drivers fall into three groups: visual (focusing on a cell phone, mobile device or touchscreen on the dashboard instead of on the road); manual (driving without keeping their hands on the steering wheel); and cognitive (their eyes may be on the road, but their mind may be thinking of something else besides driving).

“Too many accidents and fatalities on the road have been caused by drivers who were checking their cell phones, not controlling the steering wheel or mentally preoccupied by something else,” Mr. Williams says. “If you were seriously injured or your loved one was hurt or killed by a distracted driver, seek the guidance of a personal injury attorney immediately.”

Although it is against the law in Tennessee to text while driving, the state does not ban texting and driving, nor does it ban handheld cell phone use behind the wheel. “The state should introduce legislation banning these dangerous acts,” Mr. Williams says. “It will greatly reduce the number of fatalities and injuries caused by acts of distracted driving, such as these.”

Mr. Williams has dedicated his practice of 28 years to helping people and their families in accident, injury and wrongful death cases. He has tried hundreds of cases and obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Some of the more substantial verdicts include a $14.6 million verdict for an injured motorcycle rider and a $6.2 million verdict for a car accident victim that is believed to be the largest verdict ever in Sumner County, Tennessee.