More Danger in Driving Distractions

driving distractions

Driving distractions are a big problem for “gig workers” in the new economy, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The report notes that many jobs now require workers to use cell phones as part of their jobs.

Anything that takes the driver’s focus away from the road — eating and drinking, tuning the radio, interacting with passengers — raises the danger of a collision. But smartphone apps raise an especially difficult challenge in the fight against driving distractions.

IIHS President David Harkey said that “the explosion of smartphone features and services has not only created new forms of driving distraction, but also a new group of rideshare and delivery drivers whose jobs require them to interact with their phones while they’re on the road.”

Parents are also affected by the ubiquitous use of cell phones. According to an IIHS survey, parents are about 50% more likely than drivers without children 18 or younger to habitually make video calls, check weather forecasts, and engage in other sorts of smartphone-enabled distractions.

Driving Distractions

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 persons died in distracted driving accidents in 2020, accounting for 8% of all traffic-related fatalities. That figure is almost definitely an underestimate because it can be challenging to determine whether distraction definitely had a role in a collision.

Nearly two-thirds of the drivers who took part in the survey said they distracted themselves while driving at least occasionally throughout the course of the previous 30 days. In most drives, at least one device-based job was completed, according to half of the respondents. The IIHS study showed that making phone calls, streaming music, and reading texts were all frequent device-based activities, but creating navigation apps was by far the most popular. The number of people who admitted to using a mobile device while driving was far lower, but 8% of those who admitted to doing so frequently.

Predictably, the survey found that drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 were more likely than drivers between the ages of 35 and 49 to use smartphone apps while operating a motor vehicle. Surprisingly, though, the survey also revealed that parents of children under the age of 18 were 65 percent more likely to perform non-device-based tasks while driving than other drivers, 31 percent more likely to be distracted by any device, and 47 percent more likely to engage in smartphone-related driving distractions.

Driving Distractions Cause Accidents

The number of people injured in car accidents in Florida as a result of such carelessness rising. Thousands are killed and hundreds of thousands of people are injured in distracted driving accidents. If you’ve been injured by someone who was not paying attention behind the wheel, talk to an Orlando car accident attorney. Call 866-730-3508 for a free consultation with a top attorney at the Martinez Manglardi personal injury law firm. Convenient locations throughout Central Florida.

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