Is This Just Another Driving Distraction?

How often to you complain about traffic congestion? Would you be interested in a tool that would provide timely, live traffic information? Would you use this tool if it meant risking your life to get to your destination faster?

Inrix, WAZE, and TomTom are all GPS traffic and navigation applications that lets you join other drivers in your area for reporting what is happening on the road. The app also sends rerouting information when conditions change, such as an accident or bottlenecking. Waze will even let users send brief messages.

The basic idea is to gather information from other drivers through an in-dash or Smartphone GPS. To receive traffic alerts, a driver must allow the services to collect information on their own speed and location. The information will help improve traffic flow by making all drivers that use that particular application aware of accidents, bottlenecks, congestion, or when a traffic back-up has been cleared. The data is only as good as the number of users although as more drivers use such services, the accuracy of traffic reports will improve.

These apps may help everyone commute faster, but will they be safer? Remember, the data is provided on-time by users; that means by drivers on the roads; that means a distracted driver. As more drivers use these services, the accuracy of traffic reports may improve, but so will the risk of more distracted drivers. No one would be unaffected by this risky behavior. I don’t understand why businesses continue to manufacture more gadgets to distract drivers. Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible, and in a split second its consequences can be devastating. Would you risk your life to get to your destination faster? Don’t you agree that careful driving is better assurance that you will spend more time with your loved ones?

Mark Bello has thirty-five years experience as a trial lawyer and thirteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide legal finance cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Member of Public Justice and Public Citizen, Business Associate of the Florida, Mississippi, Connecticut, Texas, and Tennessee Associations for Justice, and Consumers Attorneys of California, member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.