Hanson Duby, Toronto’s Leading Personal Injury Law Firm, Releases Comments on Findings that Show Cellphones Kill More Drivers Than Alcohol
Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) September 06, 2013 -- Hanson Duby Personal Injury Law (http://www.HansonDuby.com), a personal injury law firm serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), is responding to recent findings showing that drivers distracted by their cellphones are responsible for more fatalities than impaired drivers.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), over a quarter of people killed on OPP-patrolled highways so far this year—47 out of 177 total road fatalities—have been the result of “inattentiveness” while driving, the majority of which involved texting or talking on the phone while driving. (Source: Hui, A., “Cellphones kill more drivers than booze does, police say, ahead of weekend crackdown,” The Globe and Mail August 30, 2013; http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/distracted-driving-a-growing-menace-on-ontarios-roads/article14036779/.)
Ontario banned texting and talking while driving in 2009; since then, distracted driving has climbed steadily as a cause for road fatalities, from 19% in 2010 to 26% so far this year. On top of that, drivers who use text messaging are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash, while drivers who talk on their cell phone are roughly four times more likely to crash.
“No one would think twice about getting in a motor vehicle with someone who is impaired, yet getting in the car with a distracted driver can be even deadlier,” says Spyros Bekiaris, a lawyer at Hanson Duby Personal Injury Law. “Without question, distracted driving is the number one cause of fatalities on highways in the GTA. In 2012, distracted driving accounted for 83 fatalities on OPP-patrolled roadways, surpassing the total of impaired driving-related deaths.” (Ibid.)
Bekiaris joined Hanson Duby Personal Injury Law as an associate in September 2010. He graduated from York University with an Honours BA in political science in 2006 and from the Queen’s University Faculty of Law with a JD in 2009. He formerly worked at a boutique insurance defence firm in Toronto, representing insurance companies.
Bekiaris has appeared before the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Small Claims Court, the Superior Court of Justice, and the Divisional Court. Bekiaris represents clients in a variety of disputes, including motor vehicle accidents, accident benefits, slips and falls, property damage claims and assault, representing the victims. Bekiaris is a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Hellenic Canadian Lawyers’ Association.
“While progress has been made at raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, inattentive drivers, whether they’re talking on the phone, texting, applying makeup, eating, or driving with a dog on their lap, continue to make our highways unsafe,” Bekiaris concludes. “If someone has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in the GTA due to the negligence of a distracted driver, it’s crucial that they or a family member contact an experienced personal injury law firm.”
Hanson Duby Personal Injury Law is a personal injury law firm located in the Annex district of Toronto. The firm specializes in helping injured victims obtain compensation due to car accidents, long-term disability claims, life insurance claims, and product liability claims. The firm serves clients from across the Greater Toronto Area and provides service in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, Greek, and French. The site will soon evolve again and be updated to include pages in Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, and Greek to better serve those communities. More information on Hanson Duby Personal Injury Law is available by visiting the firm's web site at http://www.HansonDuby.com or by calling 416-588-9100.
Stacey Cooper, Hanson Duby Lawyers, http://www.hansonduby.com/, +1 905-266-0350, [email protected]
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