The chances are pretty high that when you can look at individuals who are driving around you at any given point in time, at least one of them is looking down at a cell phone. By taking their eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, these motorists are traveling great distances with what essentially equates to blindness. The extent of this problem is staggering, too. A recent survey found that even though 84 percent of people identify cell phone usage while driving as a dangerous activity, 90 percent of those surveyed admitted to engaging in such behavior. This has led to an unbelievable number of accidents that have left innocent individuals seriously injured or dead.
Law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations have attempted to curtail distracted driving, including texting and driving, but they are now getting help from the corporate world. Chevy recently released a cell phone app named “Call Me Out” that they hope will remind drivers to keep their eyes and their attention on the road. The app uses the phone’s accelerometer and GPS to determine when the phone is in a moving vehicle. Then, if the phone is picked up while traveling faster than five miles per hour, recorded personalized messages from the owner’s friends and family will play reminding the driver to put the phone down.
The app is also attempting to make safe driving competitive. The app allows multiple individuals to play against each other, with points being allocated for lack of cell phone usage while driving. A scoreboard is even utilized to further encourage safe driving.
This app is only available for Android users for the time being, and it has yet to be seen if it will have any meaningful effect on the frequency of distracted driving. The sad truth is that this issue likely won’t leave us for some time, which means that innocent individuals will continue to be hit with unexpected damages when they are involved in accidents caused by the negligence of others. When this happens to an individual, it may be time for him or her to consider taking legal action by filing a personal injury lawsuit.
