Our roads are more dangerous than ever before. Every day people are seriously injured or even worse, killed due to auto accidents. Many of these accidents can be avoided.
More Distractions Means More Car Accidents
It is not uncommon to be driving around town and seeing distracted drivers. We see it every day, drivers who are texting, putting on makeup, have a dog in the lap, etc.. These distracted drivers have led to more crashes than ever before. Highway deaths have jumped over 10% since this same time last year. The largest increase in highway fatalities in the past 50 years occurred in 2015 and in just the first six months of this year over 17,000 people have died on our roads.
Many people assume that texting and driving are the leading cause of distracted driver accidents. However, a flood of new mobile apps has led to more distracted drivers. As smartphones have become a fixture of our lives, accidents have increased. Drivers have to check out Facebook, Twitter, and many other mobile apps while on the road.
Distracted App Usage is Dangerous
Some of these apps even encourage usage while driving. A recent accident in Tampa cost 5 people their lives. The driver of one of the vehicles was using the Snapchat speed filter. He recorded a snapchat video of him driving 115 mph.
Snapchat is not the only app that has led to distracted drivers. Earlier this year Pokemon Go was all the craze. You saw Pokemon players all over town. People looking down at their phones while trying to catch these imaginary creatures. Pokemon Go was not just limited to walkers though. Many people tried to catch Pokemon while driving. In Baltimore, a Pokemon Go player hit a police car while driving and playing. This was caught on video and shows how scary a distracted driver can be.
How Car Manufacturers are Trying to Help Prevent Accidents
Many car manufacturers are trying to combat this problem by synching people’s smart phones with the car itself. Some newer cars can link to Siri, answer phone calls, play Spotify or Pandora, and have many other features. The counter argument to these features is that car companies are promoting drivers to use apps more while driving. Drivers are safest when just concentrating on the road.
As our society becomes more automated these problems are going to only increase. Smartphones, Facebook, and social media are not going anywhere. Everything is designed to make us connected with the world but driving should be one time when you disconnect. Billboards are starting to pop up around Florida that read “Better left unread than Dead.” While that is harsh, it is also true. No Facebook post, text message, or Snapchat is more important than your life or a life of another.
Drivers need to put the phones down and concentrate on the road. If anyone you know is a victim of an auto accident caused by a distracted driver, please let our law firm help you get the recovery you deserve.
