Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers Warn: Hands-Free Devices are Leading Cause of Distracted Driving Car Accidents

The automotive industry is continually creating innovative devices to help drivers keep their focus on the road and access information while driving. Auto manufacturers assert that newly developed hands-free devices do not take a driver’s focus off the road.  Despite this claim of increased safety due to voice recognition capabilities, research shows otherwise. In fact, recent studies have shown that hands-free devices lead to an increase in distracted driving car accidents. 

In 2012, distracted driving car accidents killed more than 3,300 individuals.  This alarmingly high number of fatal car accidents highlights the severity of the issue which is gaining national attention.  MIT’s AgeLab analyzed data comparing drivers who use voice systems on Google Glass, smartphone voice recognition, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 touchscreen.

The Google Glass hands-free device projects visual images into a driver’s line of sight that appear similar as if looking at a smart phone.   Despite the fact that Google Glass only requires voice recognition to activate, the study reveals that hands-free devices continue to cause driver distraction.  Overall, the research concludes that hands-free devices pose less of a risk for a distracted driving car accident as compared to a handheld device.  Study findings were inconclusive as to whether Google Glass was a safer form of hands-free communication as compared to other systems.

During the study, researchers used a system called Detection Response Task to determine how quickly the driver responds to stimuli while driving. The research revealed that drivers operating a touchscreen device while driving are less focused on the road than when using a voice recognition system.  However, study findings indicate that regardless of which type of device a driver uses, both types of systems require cognitive demands that takes a driver’s focus off of the road.

For this reason, the study highlights the need for drivers to discontinue the use of any type of phone or electronic device to reduce the risk of a distracted driving car accident.

Although it may be difficult for today’s drivers to discontinue using their gadgets while driving, it is necessary to educate Americans on the real risks distracted driving creates.

Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers at Galfand Berger LLP Represent Victims of Distracted Driving Car Accidents

A car accident can have long lasting effects for those involved including financial hardship, physical injury, medical bills and in the most tragic cases, a fatal injury.  If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident as a result of a distracted driver call the experienced personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia at Galfand Berger LLP.  Our Philadelphia car accident lawyers will work to get you the compensation to which you are entitled.

Our offices are conveniently located in Philadelphia, Reading, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and we serve clients throughout the Harrisburg and Allentown regions, as well as in South Jersey. For a free consultation to discuss the details of your case, call our office at 1-800-222-8792 or contact us online.