If you’ve been involved in a car accident and one party is suing the other party for injuries that were sustained during the accident then it’s most likely the suit is based on the legal theory of negligence. Negligence is when a person fails to exercise the reasonable care that an ordinary person would have [...]
Posts Tagged ‘distracted driving’
Guest Post: What types of driver behavior constitute negligence?
Posted Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013What can employers do to prevent distracted driving?
Posted Wednesday, September 19th, 2012In the six states where texting and driving is still legal, employers are being placed in the unenviable position of having to discourage those driving on their behalf from engaging in potentially dangerous behavior. Now, businesses are starting to take initiative by implementing policies that prohibit distracted driving. Office Depot (based in Boca Raton) was [...]
Should SF Police set up distracted driving stings?
Posted Tuesday, August 14th, 2012Texting and driving is against the law, but enforcing distracted driving laws is easier said than done. Last week in Fargo, North Dakota, police setup a sting operation designed to catch motorists breaking the state’s ban on texting while behind the wheel. Over the course of the two day sting, Fargo police issued a total [...]
Automakers try to balance technology and safety, reduce distractions for drivers
Posted Monday, June 18th, 2012We’ve written about it before, but with an increasing number of consumers being wooed by new vehicles featuring the latest in-dash technology, there’s a fine line between increasing convenience and adding even more potential distractions. Now, new guidelines from the Department of Transportation are attempting to crack down on in car distractions by disabling some [...]
New Jersey judge rules text message sender not responsible for recipient’s crash
Posted Friday, June 8th, 2012In a case that garnered national attention, a New Jersey judge recently ruled that the sender of a text message cannot be held responsible for accidents caused as a result of the driver reading the message. The case, resulting from a 2009 accident in which Kyle Best collided with David and Linda Kubert while distracted [...]
Transportation secretary encouraging feds to pressure states to crack down on distracted driving
Posted Thursday, June 7th, 2012Today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a “Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving.” His new initiative pressures 11 states that currently do not have distracted driving laws to adopt them in an effort to make the roads safer for drivers and pedestrians. LaHood encourages Congress to adopt a national ban on cell phones, although he [...]
New studies reveal cell phone use while driving is on the rise
Posted Monday, May 21st, 2012According to an observational survey recently released by The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the number of drivers using cell phones while in transit jumped from 7.3 percent in 2011 to 10.8 percent this year. When it comes to drivers between the ages of 16 and 25, the increase was even more noteworthy, with [...]
Driving simulator cautions teens about the dangers of texting and driving
Posted Wednesday, May 16th, 2012Despite nearly all teen drivers saying they think it’s dangerous to text and drive, 43 percent continue to do it anyway. So, in an attempt to show teens the possible ramifications of engaging in such a dangerous behavior, AT&T is touring the country with a driving simulator designed to demonstrate the risks of texting and [...]
Pair of celebs set poor example when it comes to distracted driving
Posted Monday, April 16th, 2012Celebrities Amanda Bynes and Lisa Lampanelli both made headlines over the past couple days with reports surfacing they’d each been guilty of distracted driving. While Celebrity Apprentice and frequent Comedy Central roast participant Lisa Lampanelli was quick to joke about her offense with In Touch Weekly, Amanda Bynes’ incident seems far more serious. Bynes, the [...]
Tax Day driving may be riskier than normal, traffic deaths six percent higher
Posted Friday, April 13th, 2012With Tax Day fast approaching, it might pay to take a few deep breaths, squeeze a stress ball, or do whatever else calms your nerves before hopping in a car and heading out on the road. Apparently the combination of people driving to mail out last minute returns and other drivers merely preoccupied with tax-related [...]
Safety experts disagree on whether voice controls are really an improvement
Posted Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012Despite proposing guidelines for in-car technology back in February, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn’t plan to address voice controls until at least 2014. However, in the meantime, some safety experts are suggesting that voice controls may be almost as dangerous as cell phone use. One expert, currently doing research on cognitive distraction, says [...]
Digital Distractions Lead to New Phenomenon of ‘Parking Rage’
Posted Friday, March 30th, 2012Even if you’re trying to be a responsible driver and refrain from using your phone while driving, there’s still a chance you’ll cause conflict before ever pulling out of a parking spot. More and more people are using the time between getting in their car and putting the vehicle in drive to check email, browse [...]
Teenage girls twice as likely as teen boys to engage in distracted driving
Posted Wednesday, March 28th, 2012A new study released earlier this week by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that teenage girls are twice as likely as teen boys to use cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. The study used in-car video footage and was designed specifically to monitor distracted driving among teens, with AAA Foundation President [...]
California’s handheld cell phone ban appears to be working, traffic deaths down 22 percent
Posted Monday, March 5th, 2012A recent study from UC Berkley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) found that in examining data from the two years prior to, and two years following California’s ban on handheld cell phones while driving, traffic deaths had decreased by 22 percent. The study also found that fatalities in which handheld cell phone use [...]
Distracted Driving: Not Just a Teen Problem
Posted Tuesday, February 28th, 2012Modern life is increasingly full of diversions, and some have even crept into the drivers’ seat—phone calls, text messages, on-board video displays, fast food—all can cause accidents by distracting drivers. While teenagers, new to both driving and cell phones, are often targeted as the primary perpetrators of distracted driving, the problem has long since expanded [...]
“Google Glasses” could be both a blessing and a curse for drivers and pedestrians
Posted Monday, February 27th, 2012The latest technological rumor circling search engine giant Google is that they’re developing a pair of glasses that can stream real-time information to the wearer’s eyes. This type of technology might seem like something straight out of Minority Report or a similar futuristic sci-fi movie, but it’s actually been implemented by military and commercial pilots [...]
New cars walk the line between integrating technology and adding more distractions
Posted Tuesday, February 21st, 2012Does integrating a 17-inch monitor into the dashboard of a car make the vehicle safer or just provide the driver one more giant distraction? Regardless of the answer, automobile manufacturers have been continuing to up the ante when it comes to delivering a “connected car” to consumers. The new Tesla Model S electric car takes [...]
The Top 5 Causes of Distracted Driving
Posted Wednesday, February 15th, 2012The Top 5 Causes of Distracted Driving According to a 2009 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF link), one out of every five car crashes causing an injury involved some element of distracted driving, and 16% of all fatal automobile accidents also involved distracted driving. Statistics show that taking your eyes off [...]
New SecuraFone app looks to reduce distracted driving among teens
Posted Monday, February 13th, 2012Over the past week there has been significant press surrounding SecuraFone, a new distracted driving app designed to deny users access to their email or text messaging if the phone is moving at over 15 miles per hour. The application, created by SecuraTrac, is currently being marketed to parents as a means of both reducing [...]
SFpark tries to curb distracted driving by making street parking easier
Posted Tuesday, February 7th, 2012Finding street parking can be a massive headache. Drivers circle the block repeatedly; slowing to a near crawl whenever a space looks like it might be available, all while a logjam of irritated drivers slowly collects behind them. The most impatient drivers might try to sneak around the would-be street parker, and still others face [...]
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