Smartphones now have become the cornerstone of connection and communication in the modern era. But addiction to this gadget is also getting harmful day by day for every individual because people are engaging in their phones while commuting on roads.
Because of this terrible habit, many people become prone to unwanted catastrophes and some even lose their lives.
According to Wikipedia, A study found that the risk of a crash for cell phone users was 1.38 times higher than for non-cell phone users.
That’s why in this article we are going to talk about some crucial factors of major car accidents and understand how the best car accident attorneys can help individuals in these situations.
Let’s uncover the unknown!
The Rise of Distracted Driving
Anything that takes your eyes off driving is known as distracted driving, and smartphones are the biggest cause of distractions. They will easily make you unaware of the routing conditions and instantly foster an engagement with you.
Whether drivers are texting, scrolling through social media, or even using GPS apps, these distractions force drivers to take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and minds off driving. These distractions are the ultimate source of life-threatening events that can happen to you instantly, making you realize your life choices.
Did you know? Another study found that using a phone while driving increased reaction time by about 40% and multiplied the risk of an accident by 4. (ScienceDirect)
Why Are Smartphones So Dangerous?
We all know that mobiles are nowadays working on personalized user algorithms to grab maximum attention from their viewers. These attractive models sometimes leave a negative impact on their inhabitants by making them addicted to the tech.
Smartphones are uniquely problematic because they engage multiple senses and enable distractions that our mind constantly focuses on. These disruptions are classified into different stages, which include.
Visual Distraction: Taking your eyes off the road to stare at a screen in front of you and grabbing full concentration of your eyes into screens.
Manual Distraction: It involves taking your hands away from the wheel to type or swipe around your mobile to perform unnecessary tasks.
Cognitive Distraction: Reading or composing messages removes a driver’s mental focus from driving and removes their core focus from steering wheels, pruning them to serious incidents.
Some of the most common ways drivers misuse smartphones and make their situation worse are caused by stupid activities like:
Texting and Messaging: This is the most dangerous since this includes all three types of distractions (visual, manual, and cognitive). Talking to someone while engaging in an attentive task like driving might become fatal.
Browsing Social Media: Drivers commonly view notifications or scan feeds, which ends up disrupting their driving POV.
Video Calls and Streaming: Video calls or watching live streams are a type of distraction that can cause inevitable losses. These streaming platforms demand your complete attention, which you shouldn’t provide at that point in time while commuting.
Navigation Apps: Though many drivers rely on GPS apps, fiddling in and out of routes or looking at directions is quite distracting. Always enable voice commands for directional purposes to navigate on roads.
Intriguing Insights This graph here shows the shocking number of people who are prone to accidents in the US every year. This data here represents the demographics of different incidental scenarios that sum up to the number of, 70000 crashes annually.
Legal Consequences of Smartphone Use While Driving
At least 50 states have implemented laws in order to stop distracted driving. For instance, nearly all U.S. states have banned texting while driving. But still, some people do these practices because of their unwanted habits.
Some states have made it illegal to use a handheld device while driving. If a driver’s behavior causes serious injuries, the offender can be fined, lose their license, or even face criminal charges. These measures will provide more assurance in terms of road safety and social well-being.
Let’s check out how we can reduce the usage of these smartphones and make them less addictive and more productive:
Use Hands-Free Devices: Use Bluetooth or voice commands to take calls and avoid screen gesture usage.
Enable “Do Not Disturb” Mode: Many phone apps allow you to block all notifications while driving to provide you with an undisturbing and focused experience.
Plan Ahead: Set up navigation apps before starting your trip to avoid time-to-time changes and unwanted outages.
Pull Over Safely: If you must use your phone, get off the road first. By driving with unsafe means, you can also harm innocent citizens too.
Seeking Help After an Accident
If you have been seriously wounded in an accident due to a distracted driver, legal help can help you. In such cases, contact an obtainable attorney specializing in proving intentional misconduct by gathering phone records or witness statements.
The best car catastrophe attorney will do everything possible to get you the compensation you deserve for medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress by his excellent knowledge of legal compliance.
Conclusion
Mobile devices are, without a doubt, convenient, but they have some risks along with them when used irresponsibly while driving. Preventing distracted driving is possible when putting safety ahead of convenience. The more we spread awareness and take negligent drivers to court, the fewer smartphone accidents we will see. This will, in turn, make our roads safer for everyone.
