Don’t Tweet and Drive

As technology grows, so do the amount of distractions in a car. Distracted driving is no longer limited to eating, changing the radio station or even talking on your cell phone, but now includes the seemingly endless uses of smart phones. In 2009, distracted driving accounted for 20% of all car crashes that resulted in injury, with nearly 5,500 dying as a result. This is an especially large problem for younger drivers. The highest ratio of distracted drivers was found to be 29 and younger. According to a University of Utah study, using a cell phone while driving is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol percentage of .08. According to a study by the University of Utah, using a cell phone while driving, whether it is handheld or hands-free, delays a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08. A variety of studies makes it very clear that the vast majority of people support some kind of cell phone use restriction in cars, but about 1/3 of drivers under the age of 44 have admitted to using their cell phone while driving. Having been a Seattle car crash lawyer for over a decade, I have seen the devastating results that cell phone use in cars can have, and am a firm believer in creating new laws and regulations to help cut down on this problem.

As more and more people purchase smart phones, we are learning of new distracted driving dangers that were previously unheard of. Instead of just being able to talk on a cell phone while driving, people can check email, update their Facebook status, surf the web, and follow directions all on their phone. A recent CareerBuilder survey showed that of 5,200 respondents, 54% admitted to checking their smart phone while driving. This is a scary statistic due to how distracting these phones can be. A more recent distraction that has stemmed from this smart phone explosion is the use of Twitter while driving.

Last month, there was a car stalled on I-5 at around 7:45 am. At 7:51, a tweet appeared under the account “Mikeym” saying “That black BMW stalled in the center lane of I-5? Yeah, that’s me. Sorry, I don’t like it either.” Tweets like these are becoming more and more common, but are also being sent out by people while they are moving. The Washington State Department of Transportation realizes that people use sites like Twitter, and have been posting traffic updates to their own account. While this is being done with good intentions, it is ignoring the reality of how many people use their cell phone to check Twitter in the car.

Similar to the dangers posed by texting and driving, tweeting while driving diverts significant attention away from the road ahead. Texting while driving is banned in the state of Washington, yet the WSDOT is using a Twitter feed to post traffic updates that can be read on handheld devices. We aren’t the only ones with this hypocrisy, however, as at least 22 states have a ban on texting and driving, but provide traffic updates via Twitter. By using Twitter while driving, people are not only putting their own life at risk, but others on the road as well. WSDOT says that the tweets are meant to be read before hitting the road, but the reality of the situation is that many people read the tweets while driving.

The use of Twitter to complain about traffic or check for traffic updates from your local department of transportation is equally, if not more dangerous than texting while driving. Despite efforts to curb the distracted driving problem, the number of accidents involving texting while driving has actually increased. The only way to stop the epidemic from growing any further is for each person to make a pledge to end distracted driving. Visit Teens Against Distracted Driving, an organization I created to educate young drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, to take the pledge to not text while driving.

This information is provided by Straight Talk Law, where you can order free books on Washington auto accidents, buying Washington auto insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Washington personal injury attorney Jason Epstein and his auto accident, motorcycle accident, and wrongful death law practice in Seattle, Washington.