According to Wired and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as many as 80 percent of accidents are the result of distracted driving. Distracted driving results in personal injuries and deaths. As cell phones have become more common, it has become even harder for drivers to resist their allure.
While many believe that self-driving cars will result in fewer accidents, the technology is still years down the road. So, what can drivers and car-makers do today to prevent unnecessary deaths and accidents? Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed technology that would be able to detect when drivers are distracted. The technology uses cameras and sensors in the car to determine whether a driver’s actions behind the wheel may be putting others in danger. If a driver, for instance, starts texting and driving on a busy street, the car may be able to give the driver an alarm.
Researchers have found that it is very difficult for most people to ignore their phones, even when they are behind the wheel. According to CNN, smart phones and in-car technology can be highly addictive. Every ping from an email or text triggers the reward centers in our brain. While some texts and emails are just spam, others come from loved ones and colleagues. This creates a kind of reward scenario similar to a slot machine. Over time, we can find it very hard to resist picking up our phones, even when we know it may not be safe to do so. The brain’s dopamine reward systems can be very tough to override on the fly.
But, if cars can track how attentive drivers are when they are behind the wheel, driver’s very own cars may be able to nudge them to make healthier and safer choices. Already some semi-autonomous cars use technology that monitors whether a driver is ready to intervene if the autonomous system fails. In the future, our cars may utilize artificial intelligence to track our movements and our attention.
Interestingly, the technology isn’t far from being realized. Some believe it can be implanted in new cars within the next year.
At the end of the day, though, cars won’t take away a person’s phone. While laws have increasingly cracked down on distracting driving, particularly texting and driving, there remain no national standards for protecting the public. Texting and driving still doesn’t have the stigma that drinking and driving has, even though both practices are incredibly dangerous.
The Law Office of Robert Gregg are personal injury lawyers in Dallas, Texas who work with victims and their families to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. If you or a loved one has been hurt by another person’s decision to text and drive, or use their phone while driving, you may have important rights under the law. You and your family may be entitled to seek damages to cover your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages.