What Are Common Causes of Distracted Driving Car Accidents?

Common causes of distracted driving include cell phone use, talking to passengers, eating and drinking, adjusting vehicle controls, using in–vehicle technology, reaching for objects, and being distracted by sights outside the vehicle. 

Our New Orleans car accident lawyer cites distracted driving as a leading cause of car accidents.

Mobile Phone Use Is The Most Common Cause of Distracted Driving Car Accidents

These days, people are accustomed to being connected all the time. We’re wired for curiosity, too. For many, hearing a phone alert ping is enough to prompt them to pick up their device and find out what it’s about. That’s already a distraction. However, responding to messages makes it worse, especially when that means texting while driving.  

Apart from this, there are those who never want to miss a moment. They may scroll through social media, use apps, play mobile games, or answer calls using their handset.

They know it means they aren’t paying attention to the road and keeping both hands on the steering wheel, but they feel compelled to attend to their phones above all else. 

Many states have hands-free driving laws to combat driver distraction due to cell phone use. Nevertheless, there will always be drivers who ignore the dangers of improper cell phone use while driving, divert their attention from the road, and risk causing an accident.  

Talking to Passengers While Driving

Just chatting to people while you drive shouldn’t be a problem if you prioritize safety and keep your attention on the road. Still, it’s a common cause of distracted driving car accidents, and most of us have seen just how talking to passengers can be a danger. 

An emotionally charged or excited conversation, an argument, or turning to deal with unruly children in the back seat are all circumstances that can divert drivers’ attention. Being in charge of a vehicle is a serious responsibility, and nobody should allow anything to distract them from it. 

You can avoid this potentially risky form of distraction by insisting that passengers keep serious or emotional discussions for a time when you’re not driving. Make your passengers aware of your boundaries, and keep small children properly strapped in to their seats. 

Eating and Drinking

Fiddling with bottle caps or food wrappers, and the lack of a hands-free way to enjoy a drink or snack, pose risks to both people in a vehicle and other road users.

Louisiana laws don’t specifically prohibit eating or drinking non-alcoholic beverages while driving, but it can be legally problematic. It can lead to erratic driving and inattention, either of which may cause car accidents. 

Adjusting Vehicle Controls and Using In-Vehicle Technology

If you’re driving a familiar vehicle, you may be able to find your way around your car’s dashboard controls by memory and touch.

You’re less likely to know your way around an unfamiliar vehicle’s controls, and may have to take your eyes off the road to figure them out. With eyes and brain occupied elsewhere, a driver like this is at risk of causing an accident. 

Touchscreen controls have raised safety concerns for some time, and researchers at the University of Washington have confirmed that drivers struggle to multitask while using touchscreens. It’s no surprise. A glance away from the road can be sufficiently distracting to heighten accident risk.

For those with more traditional dashboards, simply adjusting a car’s audio system, searching for a favorite radio station, or switching playlists can be a distraction that could be enough to cause an accident. 

Reaching for Objects is Another Common Cause of Distracted Car Accidents

Whether it’s an item on another seat, in your bag, or something dropped, reaching for an object divides a driver’s focus between retrieving it and what’s happening on the road.

That means loss of focus and slower reaction times. When split seconds count, a fully attentive driver may be able to avoid a car accident, but a distracted one may not. 

Being Distracted By Roadside Sights

Whether it’s scenery, people, buildings, or billboards, anything that draws a driver’s attention and is unrelated to driving can increase the risk of a car accident.

From failing to stop or yield when necessary to lane drifting, a distracted driver’s actions can cause serious harm to passengers, people in other vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians. 

Common Causes of Distracted Driving in Car Accidents and Fault

In car accident lawsuits, showing that a driver was distracted could help demonstrate that they made a driving error. For example, a distracted driver failed to see a pedestrian on a crosswalk or failed to yield to another vehicle because they did not see it approaching. 

Although it is not necessarily a criminal offense on its own, the legal consequences of distracted driving are significant when inattention leads to a chain of events in which others are harmed.

After all, if they were not paying attention at the time, and inattention contributed to an oversight that harmed others, there is evidence of negligence.

Negligence is characterized by a person failing to exercise reasonable care to avoid harming others. If lawyers show that a distracted driver likely made an error because of a distraction, and that the error caused an accident, a court may find them liable and order them to pay damages. 

Consult Us About Your Distracted Driving Car Accident

At Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers, we fight for the win. Our dedication to service and upholding our core values means you’re in good hands when you work with us. Your first question may be whether you have a case, and we’ll be happy to answer it during a free consultation. 

Our lawyers not only understand the common causes of distracted driving car accidents, but also know what to do next.

When we represent you, it’s because we believe in your case, and we back that up with our no-win-no-fee commitment. Reach out today.