Distracted Driving 2014 Update – Auto Safety – San Diego Personal Injury Attorney

One of the chief causes of distracted driving is technology, which includes texting or using a cell phone or smartphone, using a GPS navigation system, adjusting a sound system, watching videos, and looking for CD’s or DVD’s to play. Yet some of the proposed cures for this social ill include technological solutions.

Part of what makes distracted driving so dangerous, is that the driver overreacts to a perceived threat on the road, which suddenly and unexpectedly comes into view because the driver was distracted. As an example, a driver may look up from his cell phone and see an obstacle that is not on the road but near the road and yank the steering wheel sharply to avoid this perceived threat and thereby lose control of his vehicle and roll the car or crash into a tree.

Some safety devices designed to help the driver regain control of their car or truck have proved worthwhile in price and effort, and these include anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control. Keep in mind that these two devices are useful when a driver has already somehow gotten into a situation where he or she is not in control of their vehicle. This is the end result of distracted driving, and these two devices and software may help the driver regain control of his vehicle or mitigate the dangerous or fatal result.

Electronic stability control is a program in a car’s computer which detects when the car is skidding, and selectively applies the brakes to certain wheels to help a driver go in the direction they need to go. According to both the US NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, one third of all fatal accidents could be prevented using ESC. [1]

Passive Auto Safety Technology – Disable Phones And Texting While Driving – And Certainly Don’t Check On Facebook Status Updates

Texting while driving, although a surprisingly common practice, especially among adult drivers (more so than teenage drivers), is illegal in 41 US states. In 37 states this violation is a primary offense, meaning that you can get stopped by the police, ticketed and fined for this offense alone. In the other 4 states, Nebraska, Iowa, Florida, and Ohio, you can be fined for texting while driving only if you are first pulled over for another infraction. [2]

One of the key cell phone distractions, noted by both teenagers and adults, in the car is the beep or chime indicating that they have a new text, email, or phone call. Many people find it hard to ignore so they attempt to quickly see who it is that contacted them. Even though this may take a driver’s eyes off the road for only a second, this is dangerous. But the greater danger comes when the driver feels he or she must see what their friend or business contact wrote, which can then distract the driver for a longer period of time.

A phone app, urTXT, was developed by a teenage race car driver, Zach Veach, to help combat this. The app turns on with the click of one button and is designed to be turned on by the driver when entering the car. urTXT will silence the distracting beeps, and send a message to the sender that the recipient is driving and cannot or will not answer until he or she finishes driving. [3] Of course, since this app does not automatically turn on when driving, it is up to the driver’s good sense and memory to engage it before entering the car.

Responsible parents, who want to be good role models for their kids, may choose another piece of technological equipment designed to make answering or viewing a text message impossible or extremely impractical while driving their car. The ORIGOSafe ignition interlock system can be installed in a car for $400 per vehicle, and operates by preventing the driver from holding a phone. It is a docking system which will charge the phone while driving, allows the driver to use Bluetooth to receive calls, but it will sound an alarm if the phone is removed from the dock while the car is running.

There is a commercial version of this device for fleets and companies from the same manufacturer. This helps ensure that a company does not need to worry about their drivers becoming distracted by texting or using their hands to control their phone. If the phone is removed from the docking station, an alarm will sound and the vehicle will not start until the phone is reauthorized by an Administrator. There are also workarounds in place if the vehicle is taken to be serviced, left with a valet or parking lot attendant, leant out, or if the phone is stolen. [4]

New York state troopers have been given a simpler form of technology to enforce that state’s laws against texting and driving; big unmarked SUVs which enable an officer to peer down into the driver’s lap to see if they are using a hand held device. This is in part due to the fact that before texting and driving laws, drivers would hold a phone up on the wheel to keep their eyes on the road (or so they thought). Now many drivers looking to skirt the law hold phones down in their laps. [5]

These devices, software and methods, while good and innovative, are unnecessary if drivers just use common sense and good safety practices while driving, and realize that most accidents happen for reasons related to driver error. No technology will replace the safety protections of a careful, alert and attentive driver. Drivers think that if they texted and drove once and nothing bad happened, they can do it again. But because we don’t know what lies around any corner, those actions are just ticking time bombs.

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Cell Phone / Texting Laws By USA State