The use of smartphone apps has increased distracted driving-related incidents in Chicago and throughout the rest of the nation. Drivers are increasingly using social media apps, entertainment apps, navigational apps, shopping apps, their phone’s camera app, and other popular apps while on the road. Driving while distracted leads to the death of thousands of people on U.S. roads each year, with hundreds of thousands sustaining injuries. Understanding the dangers that these apps pose and adopting a more mindful approach to phone usage while driving helps reduce the risk of accidents and injuries.
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Sobering Statistics on Distracted Driving
The Department of Transportation has referred to distracted driving as a deadly epidemic and prioritized reducing it. Getting distracted driving facts could save your life and others by helping you recognize the scale of the problem and the disastrous consequences that can follow this hazardous behavior.
In 2023, 3,275 people lost their lives in accidents involving distracted drivers. This accounted for 8% of all fatal crashes in that year. That’s an average of almost nine people dying every day. About 32,000 people have lost their lives because of distracted driving from 2014 to 2023. Another 324,819 sustained injuries in distracted driving accidents in 2023.
According to Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), US drivers spent an average of 2 minutes and 11 seconds driving while distracted per driving hour from January 2021 to September 2023. Cell phone use is a top contributor to the distracted driving epidemic. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), one in four car accidents involves cell phone use while driving. Phone usage was a factor in 2,510 accidents in Illinois in 2023. Research by CMT shows that 34% of accidents occur within a minute of a driver interacting with his or her phone.
Apps That Are Common Driving Distractions
Research has shown that drivers actively engage with a wide variety of apps that shift their focus away from the road. The apps that drivers most commonly use behind the wheel include:
Social Media Apps
Social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp dominate lists of top distracted driving apps that people admit to using while behind the wheel.
Texting is considered the most dangerous distraction while driving because it involves all three types of distractions. That could leave you wondering, “What are the 3 types of distracted driving?” The three types of driving distractions are manual, visual, and cognitive. Using social media is as dangerous as texting. Typical interactions with social media apps include posting updates, typing and sending messages, scrolling through feeds, reacting to and commenting on posts, and sharing photos, videos, and links.
Social media use while on the road increases your risk of causing a serious accident. Taking your eyes off the road to look at social media, even for a few seconds, could lead to you running a traffic light or missing an approaching vehicle or nearby pedestrian. Drivers take at least one hand off the steering wheel to type social media updates, comments, or messages. Social media use while driving also causes cognitive distractions as drivers read and process the information on social media.
Phone App
The Phone App is used to make calls, manage call history, and listen to voicemails. Using phones in hands-free mode while driving is allowed in most places, including Chicago and the rest of Illinois. Nevertheless, phone calls, whether hands-free or not, distract drivers. One drunk driving vs. distracted driving study found that both handheld and hands-free phone conversations could cause impairment as profound as that associated with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%. A Carnegie Mellon study found that listening to calls, even hands-free calls, reduced activity in the parietal lobe – the part of the brain associated with driving, by 37%.
Drivers talking on cell phones have a slower response time. They also make more mistakes than those talking with passengers.
Navigational Apps
Popular navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze provide up-to-date directions and traffic updates. While these apps can be beneficial to drivers, they can become dangerous when used while you’re operating your vehicle. According to the Department of Transportation, using the apps while driving can be as risky as texting while driving.
Searching for a location, changing destinations, posting updates about your trip, or adjusting settings take your eyes, hands, and thoughts away from real-world road conditions and increase the risk of causing a crash. Programming navigation while driving distracts drivers for an average of 40 seconds.
Entertainment Apps
There are many apps available that drivers can use for entertainment, such as watching videos and listening to music. In a Cambridge Mobile Telematics survey, 40% of drivers reported watching videos on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and other entertainment apps while on the road. Watching videos stops drivers from looking at the road. Consequently, they take longer to respond to sudden changes in their driving environment.
Email Apps
The CMT survey found that 42% of drivers check emails on email apps or use web browsers or productivity apps while behind the wheel. The same study found that 17% of drivers use the Gmail app behind the wheel. Emailing causes drivers to take their eyes off the road. Reading or sending an email for just five seconds while driving at 55mph is equivalent to driving the entire length of a football field blindfolded.
Camera App
The CMT survey found that about 23% of drivers use their phone’s camera app to take pictures and videos while driving. Using the app requires visual engagement, increasing the driver’s risk of crashing.
Other apps that commonly cause drivers to take their eyes off the road include food and drink apps and shopping apps.
The Psychology of Using Apps While Driving
There are several motivations behind drivers using apps while behind the wheel.
People use smartphones for long periods in their daily lives. These devices are habit-forming. Their apps constantly compete for attention and draw people’s attention away from their lives. Consequently, people find themselves constantly looking at their phones, even while driving.
Many people are heavily dependent on cell phones to complete various tasks in the essential aspects of their lives. As a result, they may be overreliant on phone apps when driving, for example, to achieve safer and better driving.
For many, smartphones have become more than just devices; they’re an extension of themselves. People always have their phones nearby and have their lives on their phones. Phones influence their sense of self and identity. That makes it difficult to put phones down, even when driving.
There’s a social demand to always be reachable by certain people, such as family members, friends, and clients. This creates pressure to respond immediately, causing drivers to use their phones while driving. According to an NSC opinion poll, 82% of Americans felt the most pressure from their families to use phones while on the road.
Legal Consequences in Chicago
Illinois law prohibits handheld cell phone use for all drivers while operating their vehicles. Drivers under 19 years old can’t use handheld communication devices, even if they use hands-free technology. Drivers aged 19 and above can use hands-free technology to access their phone’s features. However, drivers are strongly advised against this practice.
Violators face several penalties, including fines and points on their licenses. Accumulating too many points can lead to their licenses being suspended or revoked. Being convicted of driving while distracted in Chicago can also result in increased insurance premiums, as well as criminal charges if distracted driving causes a severe accident or injury. The distracted driver that caused the crash can be sued for damages.
If you were involved in a distracted driving accident, you may be eligible for compensation for your losses. A car accident lawyer can help you file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company and negotiate with the insurer for a fair settlement. If necessary, a lawyer will pursue litigation in court and represent you throughout the process.
When driving, your top priority should be staying fully focused on the complex task at hand. Set your music and navigation before you start driving. Avoid interacting with these and other apps once you hit the road. To make changes, call, or answer a text or email, park your vehicle safely before looking at your phone. Otherwise, silence your phone and put it away, or use the “Do Not Disturb” feature while driving.
You can consider using apps that block notifications to help you remain focused. If you become a victim of an accident caused by driving distraction, you can consult a lawyer for distracted driving to explore your legal options.
Ankin Law car accident lawyers have more than 100 years of combined experience helping accident victims receive the compensation to which they’re entitled. Contact us today for a free consultation about your case.
