The concerning rate of cellphone use by motorists

Everyday, motorists in Louisiana and elsewhere get behind the wheel of their personal vehicles. They might be heading to work, school or the store, but chances are that more than, where they are headed to are on their mind. Drivers are faced with a multitude of distractions, many of which come from technology.

In order to understand how many and how often drivers are distracted by their cellphone, researchers conducted an extensive study. This study was rather extensive, looking at the driving habits of smartphone owners. After analyzing the collected data over a course of three months that looked at three million drivers, it was found that roughly 9 in 10 drivers use their phones while driving.

This study discovered that drivers used their phone for roughly 3.5 minutes for every hour that they are driving on the road. This might seem like a small amount of time when compared to the time they are not using their phone, but that equates to 3.5 minutes when the driver should have had their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and mind focused on the task of driving.

Although 81.8 percent of drivers view using a smartphone while driving to be dangerous and 78.2 percent found it to be a completely unacceptable activity while driving, a large amount of motorists still partake in this dangerous activity. Even though there is a general understand that using a phone while driving is a major risk, the vast majority of people still do this. This unfortunately results in an increase of distracted drivers causing car accidents.

Those harmed by a distracted driver should understand their rights and options following an accident. Legal recourses are available to victims, and through a personal injury claim, a victim could hold a negligent driver liable and seek compensation for losses and damages.

Source: Ibtimes.com, “Distracted Driving: Study Finds Nearly 90 Percent Of People Use Phone While Driving,” AJ Dellinger, April 17, 2017