Nearly one year ago in Lake Zurich, Illinois a motorcycle rider was rear-ended by a vehicle while stopped at a red light.  The collision was so severe the motorcyclist suffered catastrophic injuries and died as a result of the motorcycle accident. This kind of accident is not uncommon to see in Washington state. 

The woman who caused the motorcycle accident admitted that she was distracted and did not see the red light or motorcycle.  What was so important that it distracted her from driving?  She was painting her nails!!  Are you kidding me, really!  Distracted drivers are dangerous when they have there eyes on the road, like when they on a cell phone, let alone when they aren't even looking at the road ahead.

This driver's conduct goes beyond negligent and is reckless.  What's the distinction between reckless and negligent?  Reckless driving is a higher standard.  It means that you knew what you were doing was dangerous and illegal and did it anyway.  Negligent generally means you should have know what you were doing was dangerous and illegal, another person in the same circumstance would have but you didn't.  Negligence is often the result of a lack of common sense while recklessness is a lack of caring.

In this case the woman was charged with vehicular homicide.  An Illinois jury recently found her guilty and she faces a jail sentence of up to five years.  Criminal charges and jail time are becoming more and more common when distracted drivers cause accidents that kill someone.  This woman can also expect to face a civil wrongful death lawsuit in the near future.  Her freedom and financial health will all be ruined as a result of painting her nails while driving.

Put down the cell phone, don't shave, don't put on make-up, don't paint your nails, cook breakfast or anything else that distracts while driving.  The roads are dangerous enough for motorcycles and scooters don't compound it by driving distracted.