driving apps

Published on: May 28, 2025

Smartphone Tech Could help Prevent Distracted Driving Car Accidents

Using a smartphone while behind the wheel of a car significantly increases your risks of being involved in an auto accident. However, your smartphone is also likely to come with technology that actually reduces the risks of a car accident, but most motorists do not use this important technology.

Many smartphones now come with technology that reduces the distractions that come with using a smartphone in the first place. For example, many smartphones now come with “Do not Disturb” features that drivers can activate when they begin driving to avoid having to deal with answering phone calls and replying to text messages while driving. Such technology is proving to be very useful. In fact, a new study published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that this technology can be very helpful in reducing distractions and preventing auto accidents.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted the survey and found that younger drivers, who are much more likely to use smartphones while driving, are also the most likely to be aware of such technologies in their smartphones. Older drivers are not as likely to be familiar with Do not Disturb features and other apps that can help eliminate distractions at the wheel. However, far too many drivers continue to drive without activating these technologies in their smartphones.

Published on: November 6, 2023

Roadside Cameras, Monitoring Apps Help Prevent Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Recent studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety find that some technologies may be especially beneficial in identifying distracted drivers and preventing car accidents. Distracted driving is one of the main causes of auto accidents involving serious personal injuries.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released the findings of two new studies that show that roadside cameras are very beneficial in helping identify motorists who are using cell phones while driving. The study found, in fact, that these cameras were almost as beneficial as in – car monitoring systems that are designed to identify whether motorists are distracted by cell phones when at the wheel. The study also found that in – phone apps that measure and collate data about cell phone use while driving are also extremely beneficial in helping identify driving behaviors that are likely to result in car accidents.

Currently much of the data that we have on cell phone-related behavior by motorists at the wheel come from roadside surveys conducted every year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The data in this survey comes from cameras that are used by the federal administration to monitor driving behavior from morning to evening during a few weeks every summer. Obviously, the kind of data that results from a survey like this is fairly limited since it is only collected over a certain period of time every year. There are also limitations on the number of people that can be identified or monitored using this technology.

Published on: November 22, 2022

Some Motorists at Higher Risk of Distracted Driving Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Gig economy workers and parents are much more likely to be distracted by smartphone apps while driving, exposing them to the risk of an auto accident. This is a simple idea that the majority of these drivers do not understand.

It’s a myth that distracted driving only involves the use of cell phones for texting or having conversations while driving. As smartphones become more sophisticated and as we rely more and more on smartphone apps for daily routine activities, we find that motorists are at risk of using these apps while at the wheel with possibly disastrous consequences. A new study finds that gig economy workers are up to four times more likely to use a smartphone app while driving. Examples are rideshare drivers who may frequently use smartphone apps in order to connect with potential riders. Similarly, delivery workers are also much more likely to use smartphone apps while driving as part of their daily work routines.

Parents of young children are also very likely to use smartphone apps while driving. A parent driving his child to school, for instance, might be likely to check on a weather app to learn the forecast ahead, or traffic updates for the route. The study found that drivers of children below the age of 18 were as much as 50% more likely to use a smartphone app while driving.

Published on: July 1, 2021

Study Confirms Role of Ride Share Apps and Reducing DUI Accident Rates

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Yet another study confirms the significant role that ride sharing apps like Uber can play in helping reduce injuries from drunk driving accidents in areas like the metro Atlanta region. The study finds that these apps help lower injury risks, and that the drop is even more significant in the case of younger drivers.

The results of the study were published recently in the JAMA Surgery journal, and explored the role of rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft in reducing injuries caused by accidents, specifically accidents involving impaired drivers. The advent of services like Uber has been a boon for intoxicated persons looking for a ride home that is safe, responsible cheap and convenient. Before Uber, drivers would actually have to designate sober motorists to take them home, or even worse drive themselves in an intoxicated condition. However, these apps make it easier for intoxicated motorists or their friends to ride home safely. The hope is that more people will use ride sharing apps during the upcoming Fourth of July weekend to prevent a spike in drunk driving related accidents.

The study focused on drunk driving accident rates after 2014 when Uber was introduced in the country, and compared those with accident-related injuries from before that time. They found that after ride sharing apps like Uber became available, accident injuries over the weekends in the area studied dropped by as much as 24%. The drop was the steepest – as much as 40% – in the under-thirty category. This is the group that is most likely to use ride sharing apps.

Published on: October 20, 2011

FMCSA to Release Bus Safety App as Part of Its Bus Accident Prevention Measures

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a new weapon in the fight against unsafe bus carriers that place passenger lives at risk of personal injury and wrongful death.The agency is planning to unveil a smartphone application that will allow passengers to determine the safety of a bus carrier before they buy a ticket for a trip. This type of transparency is essential for eliminating the “bad” bus carriers who cause most of the bus accidents. However, passengers should be warned that the information about their past records may be limited to due the limited nature of the enforcement personnel available to police the industry.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will likely unveil the new application in the month of November.The announcement of the app was made on September 23 at a bus safety Summit in Washington DC.The summit, the Motor Coach Safety Summit looked at ways that the federal agency can help reduce the operation of unsafe carriers on our highways. The Motor Coach Safety Summit also considered new hours of service requirements for drivers of passenger buses. All of these changes are welcomed by bus accident lawyers, although they have been a long time in coming.

The app will allow a passenger to check the safety record of a particular bus carrier, before buying a ticket.This allows the passenger to access valuable information about the safety of the carrier.The app won’t just give passengers information about the safety of a bus carrier, but will also allow them to submit safety violations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Consumer Compliant Database.

Published on: July 17, 2011

Incidents of Young Drivers and Car Accidents on the Rise with Availability of Mobile Apps

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to a poll by The US Department of Transportation and Consumer Reports, 63 percent of people under 30 acknowledged driving while using a handheld phone and 30 percent said they have sent text messages while behind the wheel. A total of nearly 5,500 people in the United States were killed in distracted driving accidents in 2009.

Although I am a personal injury attorney, and accustomed to the horrors stemming from car accidents, these are staggering numbers. However, I’m convinced that distracted driving has become an even greater problem with the rampant use of smartphones and an increased number of young drivers wielding them – especially with the plethora of apps available. The main problem is that “science hasn’t caught up to looking at the effects that mobile app usage can have behind the wheel of a car," says researcher Lauren McCartney.

Apple alone has more than 425,000 apps.So it comes as no surprise that the University of Alabama Youth Safety Lab found use of popular cell phone apps pose an even greater risk to young drivers. Additionally, the speed of these 3G devices undoubtedly makes internet and app use while on the move an ever-growing temptation for America’s young people. And incidents of distracted driving are sure to continue on an upward trend as the phones and apps alike become more affordable. Douglas Mcintyre, reporting for Aol’s Daily Finance, found a recent report by Comscore which stated that "74.6 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in April 2011, up 13 percent from the three-month period ending in January 2011."

Published on: January 5, 2010

New iPhone App to Prevent Drunk Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Atlanta drunk driving accident lawyers and auto safety advocates will be making note of a new free iTunes app that allows partiers to determine their intoxication level, minimizing the risk that they will get behind the wheel in an intoxicated state.

The app, called R-U-Buzzed was developed by the Colorado Department of Transportation at a cost of $8,000. It was meant to be another step in the state’s fight against drunk driving, and was released in time for New Year’s, which happens to be the day with the highest number of drunk driving accident deaths in the US. The app is free to download, and allows a user to input his gender, weight, number of drinks consumed and other details to come up with a BAC number. The number is accompanied by messages denoting whether it is safe for the user to drive. The “don’t drive” message is coded in red, and advises the user to get a designated driver.

The app isn’t a definitive measure of a person’s BAC level, and doesn’t claim to be so. There are plenty of other factors that can impact a person’s intoxication level, including the kind of prescription drugs he is on, and the kind of food he has been eating. Besides, R-U-Buzzed has its critics in those who believe that it could turn into a drinking game, with users drinking copiously to test their BAC levels. The strongest criticism comes from those who believe that anything less than a strong and strict “never drink and drive” message is bound to fail.