Researchers Blame Distracted Driving Trends on Smartphones

Motorists in Mississippi likely notice other drivers looking at their smartphones behind the wheel. This behavior has increased in recent years and contributed to the growing problem of distracted driving. A vice president at Cambridge Mobile Telematics said that smartphone addiction compels people to engage with their devices while driving despite the dangers. A study of 65 million vehicle trips conducted by the organization concluded that 36 percent of trips over a six-month period involved distracted drivers. This represented a 5 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier.

Age has some influence on the negative behavior. Finder US surveyed 2,001 adults and calculated that 45 percent of respondents admitted to talking on phones while driving, but 45 percent of Baby Boomers paid more attention to the road compared to 38 percent of Generation X drivers. Only 35 percent of Millennials reported that they made concentrating on the road a priority.

Professional truck drivers have better records than nonprofessional drivers of passenger cars, but a minority of commercial vehicle operators create roadway hazards. An examination of the trucking industry by SmartDrive Systems identified 25 percent of truck drivers as dangerous drivers. They tended to speed, roll through stop signs and have a higher incidence of near collisions.

People operating vehicles in a personal or professional capacity have a legal obligation to engage in safe behaviors. Actions such as texting while driving, intoxication or speeding could qualify as negligence and enable victims of car accidents to pursue financial damages with a personal injury claim. An attorney might be able to aid an injured person by organizing evidence about a crash. An attorney may decide to use this information to challenge an insurer trying to avoid paying a settlement. When necessary, an attorney might defend the victim’s claim for compensation in court.