A study conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance indicates that aggressive and distracted driving habits vary by the geography and age group of the driver. Despite widespread campaigns to combat distracted driving in West Virginia, the phenomenon is still a major problem. According to a Liberty Safe Driving Expert, anything that draws the driver’s attention away from the immediate task of driving is dangerous, including hands-free technology.
Hands-free technology may even make the problem worse by providing drivers with the illusion that they are not being distracted, though their attention is not fully on the road. Even using voice commands to control apps and other options on a vehicle’s infotainment system is a draw on the driver’s cognition. Voice commands may keep drivers from looking at their phones, but they also take the driver’s mind off the road. The Liberty study broke drivers down into generational age groups. Baby Boomers, Millennials and Generation Xers were asked about how often they were driving while distracted. They were also asked how they saw other drivers.
Millennials were the most likely age group to admit using their phones while behind the wheel, but more than 66% of all U.S. drivers said they’d used their phones while driving. Nine out of ten study participants recognized their phones were a possible auditory or visual distraction. The majority of drivers who participated said they noticed distracted driving behaviors of other drivers, but a smaller percentage admitted to engaging in such behaviors themselves.
Distracted driving can lead to a serious traffic accident. People who are injured in car accidents may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses or other damages. An attorney who practices personal injury law might be able to help injured parties by identifying parties who may have liability or by negotiating a monetary settlement with at-fault parties and their insurers.