Every day, distracted driving causes eight deaths and 1,000 injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, new research suggests that we have a long way to go to convince teenage drivers to stop using their smartphones while behind the wheel.
Approximately 70 percent of teenage drivers use smartphone apps when they are driving, according to a new survey of 2,500 high school-age children by Liberty Mutual Life Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).
The survey also found that just six percent of teenage drivers believe that using social media apps while driving is the most dangerous driving behavior. Meanwhile, just 25 percent of teenage drivers think that texting while driving is unsafe, while 29 percent believe driving while impaired is dangerous.
The National Safety Council conducted another survey of 2,400 drivers of all ages. They found that 74 percent of drivers said they would use Facebook while behind the wheel, 37 percent stated they would use Twitter, 35 percent would use YouTube and 33 percent would use Instagram while driving.
The president and head executive officer of the National Safety Council, Deborah Hersman, called this a “slippery slope.”
Dangers of Pokémon Go
The newest form of distracted driving is playing the wildly popular smartphone game Pokémon Go while behind the wheel. Players across the country have gotten into car accidents because they were distracted by the game.
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game allows players to attempt to catch Pokémon characters that appear in real-world locations on their smartphones.
If you were injured in a car accident with a distracted driver, contact the experienced car accident lawyers in South Bend at Pfeifer, Morgan & Stesiak. Our skilled lawyers will review your claim for free to see if you are entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Call a personal injury lawyer today at (574) 444-0741.
