It’s well known that using a phone while driving can lead to a car accident. Texting and driving is the most dangerous thing someone can do, in many regards, but other actions are also dangerous. Even just talking on the phone, which many people consider to be safe, raises the statistical odds of an accident.
Knowing this, you may wonder why people can’t seem to shake these habits. If you told someone that they were massively increasing their odds of serious injury, wouldn’t they put their phone away and leave it there until they arrived? People have a natural aversion to risk and injury, but it somehow doesn’t seem to apply in the car. Why not?
Drivers are often essentially addicted
While you may not be addicted to the phone in the same way that someone is addicted to alcohol, there is plenty of research showing that a phone can have a similar impact. Many of the same struggles that people have with other addictions apply to phone use, including using the device at times when it is clearly dangerous, inappropriate or unnecessary.
The issue is that this addiction benefits app developers. They are usually trying to sell ads. They make money by exposing you to more ads and getting you to click them. If they can cause you to be essentially addicted to the app, you’ll spend more time on it, you’ll see more ads and they’ll make more money. This has come at the cost of human lives taken in car accidents, but the practice continues.
If you get hit by a distracted driver, make sure you know what legal options you have to obtain the compensation you need as you recover. You shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s mistakes.
