A crash occurred in Clarke County on February 22, 2011

VEHICLE 1 WAS SOUTHBOUND ON I-35, THE DRIVER WAS TALKING ON HER CELL PHONE AND WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LEAVE THE ROADWAY TOWARDS THE MEDIAN AND THE SUBJECT OVER CORRECTED AND ROLLED THE VEHICLE THREE TIMES, BEFORE IT CAME TO REST IN THE WEST DITCH.

What you see above is the narrative from the February 22, 2011 Iowa State Trooper Tucker’s ISP Crash Report for a single-vehicle accident. The accident occurred at 5:34 P.M. in Clarke County on Interstate 35 in Iowa. The events took place in the southbound lane. I-35 in Iowa is a north-south Interstate Highway that connects Minneapolis and Kansas City. The driver of the car was cited for failure to maintain control under Iowa Code section 321.288. Now here is why I find this report so interesting.

I’ve not seen many reports where the officer discovers a cell phone being the distraction that is the leading or even a contributing cause of the driver losing control and causing an accident. I say this with confidence because I read a lot of accident reports and just before this past Christmas I was involved in an accident with the driver came across the center line and hit me. I wanted to know whether the driver had a cell phone and if he was on it at the time of the collision. The officer seemed reluctant to even ask the other driver and didn’t demand to see his phone so he and I could investigate.

In my case I told the officer we had three possible reasons why the driver came across the center line as he did.

• He’s drunk and passed out.
• Second, he was using his cell phone, texting and paying no attention to his driving.
• Three, he is suicidal and thought driving  his little sedan into the front end of a Ford F-350 with an 8 foot plow and the truck bed fully loaded with sand and salt would get the job done.

So today's question is a simple one. Why are officers reluctant to investigate cell phone usage by the drivers when an accident has happened?

In this instance I say give Trooper Tucker a commendation! Whoo-hoo! An officer that asks and demanded answers. Good for you where do I send the letter of thanks?

If you wish to read the entire crash report, follow this link to the Iowa State Patrol site or if it’s not working I’ll carry the full report on the Lombardi Law Firm site under the I-35/I-80/I-235 accident section.