Cell Phone Use and Car Accidents

As personal injury lawyers, we know most car accidents occur when one driver is not paying attention. Distraction may cause a driver to underestimate the road conditions or not focus on how they are driving. We have seen cases where a distracted driver slammed directly into the rear of a parked car. There has been a lot of controversy lately regarding cell phone use and driver safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations (NHTSA) estimates that upwards of 85 percent of all cell phone users use their cell phones while operating their vehicles. In 2001, New York was the first state to completely ban cell phone use while driving. Since then, some states have followed suit, recognizing the risk cell phone use while driving has for every citizen. Opponents of these laws argue that there is no reliable data that indicates cell phone use increases the risk of car accidents. People who favor such laws argue cell phones distract drivers. Recent studies have shed some light on the whether cell phone usage does increase the risk of being involved in a car accident.

A recent Harvard study found that one out of every 20 accidents in the United States involves a driver who was talking on their cell phone. According to this study, roughly 2,600 people die in car accidents yearly because of the use of cell phones while driving. Additionally, this study estimates show that 330,000 people are injured in car accidents yearly due to cell phone use.

It seems logical that fumbling around your car to grab you cell phone, or dialing or texting on your cell phone while driving can be a distraction. Thus, some have argued voice activated or hands free cellular devices are the answer. Another study conducted by Carnegie Mellon found that simply listening to cell phones can have an impact on a driver’s ability to focus on the road. This contradicts the argument that hands free cellular devices are safer to use while driving. The study specifically found that driving while listening to a cell phone conversation resulted in a 37 percent decrease in function in the part of the brain that is thought to be related to driving.

If you live in Vermont or New Hampshire and you have been injured in a car accident because the driver was distracted by their cell phone, it may be advisable to contract an experienced attorney.