Do you use your cellphone while driving? If you do, you are not unlike the many drivers who either talk or even text while behind the wheel. Some will do so even if their state has laws against texting and driving. It is a hard habit to break, but also a crucial habit for drivers in Pennsylvania and beyond to break.
Ironically, it is the makers of the cellphones that we are all so addicted to that claim to be trying to break people of the distracted driving habit. NBC News reports today that Microsoft has a new way to make its relatively new phones safer and to prevent accidents related to cellphone distractions.
Microsoft’s Windows software will now have another option for its users to employ if they so wish. Just as there are settings that phone owners can choose for their devices like networking choices, security choices, etc., there will now be another option to consider: Driving Mode.
Driving Mode would silent incoming calls and texts. It will also send a reply to people trying to reach the driver’s phone that he or she is driving. It is a simple settings solution that, if employed, could solve a huge problem. People get injured or killed in distracted driving accidents all too often on the roads. That reality makes the seemingly innocent action of sending or reading a text anything but innocent. It is irresponsible and reckless.
It is one thing to set laws, create phone applications and setting options that are aimed to prevent driving distractions. Those efforts are not enough on their own or even combined if drivers choose to ignore or disregard them. Using Driving Mode is a choice. Downloading phone apps that prevent distracted driving is a choice. Even following the law is a choice.
It is when someone fails to make wise choices and makes careless ones that lives are forever changed. If that happens, victims of driver negligence can make the choice to work with a personal injury attorney who can help.
Source: NBC News, “Windows Phone update has safe-driving mode, support for larger HD devices,” Anick Jesdanun, Oct. 14, 2013