Automotive Product Liability Litigation

American Conference Institute / June 26-27, 2012

Dallas Corpus Christi Houston

Hazards of Distracted Driving

“America’s roadways are safer than ever. The latest data show that traffic fatalities are at their lowest level since 1949 and that the death rate based on miles traveled is the lowest in history. But technologies such as active safety systems and advanced air bags are being offset by auto safety’s newest enemy: distracted drivers using electronic devices behind the wheel.”

Time Magazine, March 12, 2012

Distracted Driving:Key Facts & Statistics

5,474 deaths in 2009 involving distracted driving. 80% of all crashes and 65% of near crashes involve

some type of distraction that takes the eyes off the road. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s 100 car study for NHTSA.)

16% of fatal crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. (NHTSA)

What is a Distracted Driver?

Types of Distractions

Manual Visual Cognitive

Eating and Drinking

Interior Distractions

Children and Pets

Multi-Tasking

Distractions are NOT the Same

2x more missed events due to manual distracter

Effects of Distraction:Impaired Situation Awareness

CELL PHONES

More than 275,000,000 Americans own cell phones.

81% of them talk on those phones while driving.

Text messaging has experienced a tenfold increase in the past three years.

Prevalence of Cell Phone Use While Driving

*Drivers observed holding phones between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM.Source: National Occupant Protection Use Survey, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA

2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 20080%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Pe

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nt

of

Dri

vers

Ho

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g P

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Effects of Cell Phone Distraction

“Impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk.”

Strayer, et al. (2006), A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, D. Strayer, F. Drews, & D. Crouch (Eds.), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (Vol. 48), 381-91.

Differences Between the Distracted Driver and the Drunk Driver

RT during cell phone use is longer than RT during .08% BAC

But distracted drivers have: Larger following

distances Lower brake forces Lower than “normal”

speeds

Effects of Distraction:Increased Reaction Time

Hand-held phone conversation increases RT

18%

Consiglio, et al. (2003). Effect of cellular telephone conversations and other potential interference on reaction time in a braking response. Accident Analysis and Prevention 35, 495-500; See also Collet, et al. (2009). Physiological and behavioral changes associated to the management of secondary tasks while driving. Applied Ergonomics 40, 1041-1046.

The Mix of Cell Phones and Driving Has Been Deadly.

Auto accident deaths related to cell phone use and texting increased 28%, from 4,572 in 2005 to 5,870 in 2008.

Using a cell phone while driving quadruples your risk of crashing.

Texting while driving has killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 through 2007.

Text messaging = 23 times higher crash risk (VTTI) Texting = 4.6 seconds of blind driving

Legislation Against Distracted Driving

*For state specific information, see http://www.distraction.gov/

Distracted Drivers in the Courtroom

Cell Phones and Negligence

Admissible

Human Factors

Experience Age Gender Risk taking

Corporate Awareness of Distracted Driving as a Hazard

In 2011 ZoomSafer surveyed more than 500 corporate managers and found:

62% of companies have adopted written policies prohibiting employees from using mobile phones while driving for company business.

32% of all companies have knowledge or evidence of vehicle crashes that have occurred as a result of distractions stemming from employee use of cell phones while driving.

Public Service Announcements

Distracted Walking

A woman named Bonnie Miller fell into a river connected to Lake Michigan while she was attempting to walk along a pier and send a text message at the same time.

A research team at Stony Brook University conducted a study around texting while walking and found that participants consistently veered away from walking a straight path by a 60 percent deviation.

Another study published in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Pediatrics journal during 2009 found that children that text or talk on a cell phone while walking near or on a street are 40 percent more likely to get hit by an automobile.

Distracted Flying

After a Northwest flight crew distracted by a laptop overshot their destination by 150 miles, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised air carriers to create and enforce policies that limit distractions in the cockpit and keep pilots focused on transporting passengers safely.

On May 27, 2010, a Jetstar pilot was forced to abort his Singapore landing when he realized at the last moment (the plane was 392 feet from the ground) that he'd forgotten to put the landing gear down. His excuse: He was distracted by incoming text messages to his phone.

Thank You

Hazards of Distracted Driving

Larry D. Grayson | Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP

6688 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1000 | Dallas, TX 75206

(214) 346-3719 | (214) 267-4219 (direct fax)

lgrayson@hdbdlaw.com | www.hdbdlaw.com