A recent report from the Governors Highway Safety Association confirmed what many people in New Jersey know already. Distracted driving, including the use of phone and other electronic devices, causes serious accidents.
The magnitude of the problem, though, may come as a surprise. According to a media summary of the report, drivers who choose to use their cell phones while driving are 240 percent more likely, that is, easily more than three times as likely, than other drivers to be involved in an accident.
The Association’s report itself also emphasized the urgency of the distracted driving problem. It concluded that distracted driving has played a significant role in the surge of traffic fatalities across the country since 2020. For example, in 2021, distracted driving was a factor in 28 percent of all traffic-related deaths.
The Association proposed that communities use telematics data to help identify distracted driving trends and prevent them. Telematics refers to the collection of a driver’s or vehicle’s data through a device like a mobile phone. It is much like the black boxes in commercial airplanes that provide useful information in the aftermath of a crash.
Collecting and analyzing numerical telematics data could, for example, allow authorities to identify hotspots for distracted driving on the roads and tighten enforcement or take other measures to mitigate the risk.
Distracted drivers should be held accountable for the damage they cause
Telematics may also serve as a valuable tool in severe automobile accident cases. Victims of accidents or their families may be able to prove another driver involved in the accident was on their phone at the time of the collision.
Distracted drivers should be held legally accountable for the injuries they cause, especially since the risks of this sort of behavior are well known. Those in Northern New Jersey who suspect a distracted driver injured them have legal options to pursue compensation for their losses.
