Distracted Driving is Dumb Driving!
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118456)
Gainesville, Florida
February 28, 2018 6:03pm CST
I was in an accident yesterday that involved four vehicles. It was rush hour, and traffic was at a standstill. While sitting in the traffic, the vehicle approaching behind me failed to slow down or stop for the traffic, and plowed into the back of my truck, pushing my vehicle forward into the car in front of me, which in turn pushed that car into the car in front of it. Just like that, four people's day was ruined!
Thankfully, everyone was okay, but the car that hit my truck was completely totaled (not repairable), as well as the car in front of me that my truck was pushed into.
The driver that hit me because she failed to slow down or stop was texting while she was driving. As a result of her foolishness, she no longer has a vehicle. And an innocent driver--the woman in front of me that I hit as a result of being rear-ended--she now has no car either. Such a shame. All because a driver couldn't wait a few minutes until they got home to text or talk on the phone.
I sustained damage to my front and rear bumper, both of which will have to be replaced, but otherwise I got off lucky. The fourth car also got off with only a small scratch on her bumper.
My advice to all of you is not to ruin your life or ruin your vehicle (or the vehicle of others) because you feel you have to answer a text or call immediately. It can wait. If your lucky you will only wreck your car. If you're unlucky you may lose your life!
I've now been in two accidents in my truck (neither my fault) that were caused due to distracted drivers, and as a result of those two accidents three other vehicles were completely totaled. That shows how strong my truck is and how easily damaged today's small cars are.
Score three points for Jeff's truck and zero points for the cars my truck was forcefully introduced to.
37 people like this
35 responses
@AmbiePam (85528)
• United States
1 Mar 18
I grew up in a church with a really good man named Dallas. He was a police officer, a dad, a husband, and a grandfather. A few years ago he was stopped at a light, in the middle of the day, on his motorcycle.
A 23 year old nursing student ran right over him because she was texting He was stopped at a light in broad daylight! How are you so self involved? He was taken to the hospital, and he lingered in excruciating pain for a week and a half. Both of his legs would have had to be amputated if he had lived, but he passed away 10 days later. She was charged, but his family, a kindhearted group, asked the D.A.'s office to just give her probation. Because of that she didn't go to jail. I really hope she doesn't waste her second chance.
4 people like this
@AmbiePam (85528)
• United States
1 Mar 18
@moffittjc I genuinely wonder how they live with themselves.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (85528)
• United States
1 Mar 18
@sugartoes I know. There should be real consequences.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
Sad stories happen like that everyday, unfortunately. I lost one of my co-workers about 10 years ago in a similar fashion. He was heading home on his motorcycle after work one day, and was stopped at a light (in broad daylight), and a distracted driver plowed right over him. It's so sad that someone's life can be taken in an instance over something as stupid as a text message.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
In many places in America it is illegal to text and drive, but not in Florida. However, it most likely will become a law here this year, as there is a lot of political support for it now. The driver that hit me didn't seem hurt at the time of the accident, probably because of the adrenaline surge, but I guarantee she is feeling hurt today. My back is sore just from the impact of her hitting me, so I imagine she is in really rough shape today, considering her car was so badly damaged that it is a total loss.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
1 Mar 18
@moffittjc So were the police not involved?
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Mar 18
@jaboUK Yes, but Florida is considered a "no-fault" state, meaning the police will not assign fault to any driver in an accident. They just simply fill out the police report with all the details and give each driver a copy. Each individual driver then has the responsibility to provide the police report to their insurance company, and it is up to the insurance companies to determine who was at fault. In this case, it was easy, as the driver who hit me admitted fault, and her insurance company accepted liability for the accident right away. In fact, I've already got an appointment to take my truck in to the shop and get it fixed, all to be paid for by the other driver's insurance company.
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
1 Mar 18
I am glad you are not injured and okay, did you go to the doctor's just to double check? You are right with those drivers, they cannot simply wait until they get home or pull over into a parking lot if its that important. Did she admit she was texting? Now she's without a car and the woman in front of you.
Your truck is a safe one to wreck the car in front as well.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
I have not gone to the doctor. You have 14 days after an accident to seek medical attention, if necessary. I was sore yesterday, but that is to be expected. I feel less sore today, so I am going to be okay. Usually whiplash rears its ugly head a few days after an accident, but so far I don't have any pain or soreness in my neck at all, so that's a good sign!
Cars are so small and so light these days, that it doesn't take much to destroy them. My truck is big and heavy, so it does a lot of damage when it hits those tiny little cars. The other thing is that cars nowadays are designed to completely crumble when they get in an accident. That is so the vehicle absorbs the impact of the force of a crash, and not the person in the vehicle. So, by design, cars are meant to be destroyed. I know that sucks if you are the owner of a car that gets destroyed in a crash, but at least you will most likely walk away from any serious crash you have.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
1 Mar 18
@moffittjc Okay, I hope all is okay 
And if needed seek medical attention, ok!
Yep, cars are meant to be destroyed to save us, but I’d want a super truck that is strong. With all the traffic & crazy drivers here I sometimes even want a Hummer at times 
And if needed seek medical attention, ok!
Yep, cars are meant to be destroyed to save us, but I’d want a super truck that is strong. With all the traffic & crazy drivers here I sometimes even want a Hummer at times 1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Mar 18
@infatuatedbby That's exactly why I love my truck and don't ever wan to trade down to a smaller car. My daughter is learning to drive right now, and I'm trying to encourage her to give serious consideration to a truck once she's ready to buy her first vehicle!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
1 Mar 18
Who pays for the damages? Here the insurance covers, but as the woman is guilty of texting while driving, the insurance would sue the woman to have the money back from her. She would also lose her driver license and would be obliged to re-pass her exams in six months. Laws should be strict to oblige people to be less distracted. I am glad that no one was hurt.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
2 Mar 18
@moffittjc In Europe the Insurance companies are obliged to pay the damages caused to the others, this is the purpose of an insurance. You are not free to go around causing damages that are not paid. If you are the one who caused the damages because you violated the laws, the insurance company will sue you.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Mar 18
Here, each insurance company is different. I'm not sure what her insurance company will do in this situation. My insurance company won't cover damages I cause in an accident if it can be proved that I was texting and driving. It's possible that her insurance company may sue her to recover the costs they had to pay out as a result of the accident.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325815)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Mar 18
I missed this back when. It pays to have a well-built vehicle. Half the SUVs and 4WDs around here never get off the sealed roads but young Mums like them because they're perceived as safer - which means the young Mums probably think they can text and drive in them. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Mar 18
I would think that SUVs and 4WDs have to be at least a little bit safer than all these tiny little cars that are on the roads these days.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Mar 18
@JudyEv Tell me about it! My truck is considered very efficient among trucks, but still gets about half the gas mileage as the fuel efficient cars on the market today.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325815)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Mar 18
@moffittjc Certainly they are but they are also expensive to buy and are great gas guzzlers. Other than feeling safer many of the city people have no need for them.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
It's a secondary offense in Florida, meaning the police would have to pull you over for some other infraction (such as speeding) in order to ticket you for texting. But there is a bill making it's way through the state legislature that would elevate texting and driving up to a primary offense, which will give cops the ability to pull people over and ticket them for texting.
2 people like this
@rebelann (111190)
• El Paso, Texas
8 Mar 18
You give fantastic advice but I'm adding another one to it, for kids learning the ropes of everyday driving I'd suggest they DO NOT TURN ON THE RADIO TO LISTEN TO THEIR FAVORITE SONGS the simple action of looking for radio stations can be just as dangerous as talking or texting on the phone ..... oh, it's not just greenhorns that shouldn't look for radio stations while driving, it's probably safer to find the station you want before starting to drive.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111190)
• El Paso, Texas
10 Mar 18
Ohhh, so you have a new vehicle @moffittjc around here a lot of people are still driving really old cars that don't have those features, in fact I don't because I can't afford to pay for that service.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Mar 18
@rebelann My truck is a 2010, so it's not really a new vehicle any more. But it was fully loaded when I bought it, so it had th latest bells and whistles on it. Took me 7 freaking years to pay it off!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Mar 18
The technology of today's vehicles makes it easy and seamless to change radio stations without taking your hands off the steering wheel. Or, in the case of my truck, I just talk to it and tell it what songs or music or stations to play! My eyes never leave the road, and my hands never leave the wheel!
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
25 Mar 18
glad no one was hurt - she should lose her license for such action - it is a criminal offence here to text and drive
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
4 Apr 18
@moffittjc hopefully they will catch up
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Apr 18
@arthurchappell Eventually they will, but our elected officials are very slow to respond to changing times.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Apr 18
It's not a criminal offense here in Florida, although in most other states it is. Not sure why Florida won't pass tougher texting and driving laws.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (79769)
• United States
1 Mar 18
It's sad that that woman caused so much damage by texting and not paying attention. Everyone is lucky that only the cars were wrecked and that no one including you was killed. Think she learned her lesson?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
Let's hope she learned her lesson. I spoke to her insurance company yesterday, and she only had $10,000 worth of coverage on her policy. Her car was brand-new, hadn't even made two payments on it yet. I guarantee you that car was probably worth $20,000 at lest, so now she is only going to get a $10,000 check from her insurance company, yet she still owes payments on a $20,000 car. So now not only does she not have a car, but she still owes at least $10,000 on a car she can't drive.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Mar 18
@sugartoes There's definitely going to be a lot of out-of-pocket expenses for her, so hopefully she does learn her lesson. In the end, I hope that text message was as valuable to her as the thousands of dollars it's going to take to fix or replace her car!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Mar 18
Thank goodness cars are safer now than at any point in history, or else there would probably be a huge uptick in fatalities as a result of texting and driving. But with cars being so safe now, most distracted drivers can walk away from an accident with nothing more than a very expensive lesson in what texting and driving can cost you.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Mar 18
@just4him I hope that accidents have gone way down, as well as injuries to drivers. Safer cars should mean fewer traffic fatalities.
1 person likes this
@just4him (306352)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
4 Mar 18
@moffittjc I heard a comment from a radio announcer a few days ago that said with all the safety features on cars today, accidents have gone way down.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 18
I would have agreed with you about the driverless cars, except for the fact that one just hit and killed a pedestrian this past week.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Mar 18
@paigea I don't recall what city it was in. It was in a big city (for some reason I'm thinking Philadelphia) where they are testing the self-driving cars on the roads.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35701)
• Canada
26 Mar 18
@moffittjc where was that? Didn't know any were on the roads yet.
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
13 Mar 18
Oh that's not good- I was also hit while people were backing out of parking spots in the mall----Twice! So know of which you speak! The last one was just last week so was going to also write a post about it!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Mar 18
Did it do a lot of damage to your car?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Mar 18
@MarymargII Dents in cars can be fixed. Dents in people are a little harder to mend. Just keep in mind that vehicles are fixable!
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
14 Mar 18
@moffittjc A small dent. But very upsetting.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Mar 18
@nela13 Yes, my truck is drivable, so it has not been an issue waiting so long to get it fixed.
How are your eyes doing? Are they healing and getting better?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Mar 18
My truck is still not repaired yet. I will take it to the repair shop on 10 April to be fixed. They said it will take about two weeks to fix everything. They will give me a rental car to drive while my truck is being fixed.
1 person likes this
@nela13 (55700)
• Portugal
21 Mar 18
@moffittjc that is more than 1 month to get the truck to repair. Was It possible for you to drive It during this time or not?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Mar 18
When I was with Geico, I never had to worry about them raising my rates after I was in an accident. I switched to Met Life last year, so this will be my first test to see if they raise my rates or not. They've been very pleasant to deal with so far, so I'm hoping I can make it without any rate increases.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Mar 18
@YrNemo Insurance companies are evil. But unfortunately a necessary evil. They don't give give a damn about us. They take our money every month in the form of premiums, and then want to cheat you out of payment when the time comes to make a claim. Or at least pay out as little as possible.
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
22 Mar 18
@moffittjc Good luck. I have got bad experiences with insurance companies so far, dislike them all.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (170011)
• United States
2 Mar 18
Oh wow,,the texting driver is gonna get in big trouble!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (170011)
• United States
2 Mar 18
@moffittjc oh I thought the no texting acvnd driving laws were applied pin all states.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Mar 18
I don't think she'll get in any trouble at all, because right now there are no laws in Florida against texting and driving. However, if her insurance company investigates and determines she was texting, then they can penalize her by refusing to cover her damages from the accident. So, in the financial sense, she could be in big trouble since she completely wrecked a brand-new car that she hasn't even paid for yet.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Mar 18
@snowy22315 There was actually an article in our newspaper this morning that said the texting and driving law currently making it's way through our state legislature has stalled, and will most likely not get passed as a law this year. Sometimes I think our politicians are boneheads.
@much2say (53958)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Mar 18
Well thank goodness everyone was ok! But ugh - with her texting and not paying attention, it could have been totally worse. I was in a car accident early January, but I don't know if the driver was distracted this way . . . she made a wrong choice in clipping the front corner of my car as I was stopped and she tried to make a RIGHT from the LEFT turn lane!! I tell my kids that even if we follow the rules, there are always going to be bozos who won't - and those are the ones we have to watch out for. Knowing that people are still driving while being on their phones, I hate being on the road even though I'm on it all the time.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53958)
• Los Angeles, California
4 Mar 18
@moffittjc I'm afraid of both 
!
!1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Mar 18
I used to be afraid of drunk drivers. Now, I'm more terrified of distracted drivers than I am of drunk drivers.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Mar 18
@much2say Well, I guess technically I'm still afraid of drunk drivers as well. No matter what, we have to be very careful out on the roads!
1 person likes this
@velvet53 (22528)
• Palisade, Colorado
14 Mar 18
I'm glad to hear that no one was hurt. It is a shame when a person causes so much misery just because answering a text was more important than other people's lives. We have talked in the past about your truck and I am glad you were in it instead of a small car. Did she get a nice big ticket?
1 person likes this
@velvet53 (22528)
• Palisade, Colorado
15 Mar 18
@moffittjc Thaat is good cause it put you at no blame for what happened.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Mar 18
@velvet53 I was sitting stopped at a red light. There's no way they could have blamed me in this situation. lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Mar 18
Florida is a "no-fault" state, so the police generally do not issue tickets in accidents, as they let the insurance companies fight out who is responsible for the accident. In my case, the driver that hit me admitted fault, so her insurance company accepted responsibility right away.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
I hate to admit that sometimes i am distracted when driving. i really try not to be. but occasionally, i do. i don't though, when i am in traffic. i tend to look down at my phone when i am at a stop light.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 18
I will look at my phone if I am stopped at a red light, but otherwise I don't let it distract me while I'm driving.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
22 Mar 18
They need to make it illegal here in Florida to text and drive. There are entirely too many accidents caused by texting., I do not understand what is so important that they can't wit til they get home, pull over, or just plain not answer at that moment in time.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Mar 18
@HazySue Considering the state gets the revenue from any tickets that are issued, I would have thought they would jump all over the opportunity to pass that law. I'm not aware of any groups or lobbyists that were against it. Their decision still baffles me.
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 18
Everybody said it was a sure thing that the new texting and driving law would pass the Florida legislature, then right at the end of the season the bill was killed. Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
26 Mar 18
@moffittjc I just don't understand what they were thinking.
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
27 Mar 18
I got into an almost similar situation as yours a few years ago when my rear was bumped by a guy whom I believe was talking on the phone or with his wife beside him. What made it worst was that I just had my car out of the shop a week earlier where I had it repainted as it has already faded and spent P42K for the job.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Mar 18
Wow! My biggest fear is that when I get me truck fixed, that I'll get in another accident on the way home from the repair shop! lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118456)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Mar 18
@sunrisefan I hope it does not happen either.
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
28 Mar 18
@moffittjc Hahahah! Hope it does not happen to you :)
1 person likes this
