Your Hair Looks Fine: Don’t Primp and Drive

By WRSMH on August 10, 2017

makeup-eyeshadow-mascara-applying-primpingThere are three key types of distractions that can occur while driving:

    1. visual,
  1. manual, and
  2. cognitive.

Adjustments to hair and makeup, shaving, or other cosmetic efforts while driving can involve all three types.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Food and Beverages in a Vehicle: Recipe for Danger

By WRSMH on August 5, 2017

ice-cream-eat-food-summer-funEating or drinking in a car may not be the most common cause of distracted driving accidents, but it’s still a bad idea.

Drivers typically take one or even both hands off the steering wheel while eating, which makes controlling the vehicle more difficult. Grabbing a quick meal while rushing around New York is quite common, but it can be incredibly dangerous to “eat and drive.”

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

The Sounds of Safety: Driving While Listening to Music

By WRSMH on July 31, 2017

car stereo-radio-driver-distracted-music-listening-changing stationsFew things compare to the simple joy of rolling down your windows, turning up some music, and going for a drive in the evening. The feeling of wind in your hair while you listen to the music playing is a great way to unwind after a long day.

It’s easy, however, to get lost in thought while singing along. Driving in New York can be both fun and treacherous, but music can provide distractions that create even greater dangers.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Cell Phones and Driving: A Deadly Combination

By WRSMH on July 26, 2017

navigation-cell phone-driving-distractedDriving, at the best of times, is a demanding activity that requires eye-hand coordination, attentiveness, and split-second reactions to changing conditions.

In New York, trying to do all these things while texting is to invite disaster. Even talking using a hands-free device poses a distraction and can be very costly.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Greenpoint DUI Crash Proves Fatal for Passenger

By WRSMH on January 17, 2016

A 26-year-old woman was killed in a New York car accident when the 2015 Honda Civic in which she was a passenger crashed into a tractor-trailer. The fatal truck accident occurred at 367 Vandervoort Avenue in Brooklyn. Officials say the 27-year-old driver of the Civic was speeding while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the side of the tractor-trailer. His passenger suffered fatal head trauma and died at Woodhull Hospital.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Study Finds Google Glass Doesn’t Make Driving Safer

By WRSMH on October 13, 2014

Does Google Glass make texting while driving safer? Probably not, according to a recent study conducted at the University of Central Florida.

The study placed drivers in a driving simulator to test their ability to send messages using Google Glass, their own smartphones or an unfamiliar smartphone. During each test, drivers were asked to send text messages on the device they were given. As they texted, the simulator showed a car slamming on its brakes ahead of their own.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Heads-Up Display to Hit Shelves in 2015, but Concerns Remain

By WRSMH on August 11, 2014

Cell phone use in vehicles is one of the biggest sources of distracted driving accidents, as many experienced New York car accident attorneys have seen. States have attempted to limit these risks by imposing restrictions on cell phone use in vehicles, and auto manufacturers have responded by integrating many popular smartphone features into in-vehicle displays.

Now, San Francisco-based tech company Navdy is launching a heads-up display (HUD) that offers another alternative. A HUD projects key visual information onto the windshield of the car, allowing drivers to access music, maps, and communications on their smartphones without taking their eyes off the road.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving

Understanding the Risk Factors of Distracted Driving

By WRSMH on February 24, 2014

NY Driver DistractionDespite recent attempts by New York and other states to curb distracted driving and to raise awareness of its risks, thousands of New Yorkers get behind the wheel every day in some form of distraction. Cell phone use while driving continues to be a primary source of distraction, and on average, nine people lose their lives nationwide every day due to distracted driving. Thousands more suffer severe injuries, requiring the assistance of dedicated New York distracted driving injury lawyers to help them protect their legal rights and to seek compensation for harms that could have been avoided.

A 2011 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 69 percent of drivers admitted to using their cell phone while driving, and that 31 percent of these drivers admitted to texting or emailing behind the wheel within the past 30 days.

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Posted in: Distracted Driving