Car Wrecks Involving Mobile Apps - St. Louis Injury Lawyers

Over the past few years, car accidents have been on a constant rise, and the New York Times believes that a key factor behind this spike is the use of mobile apps. Today, there are a large number of apps available that are specifically designed for use in cars. Drivers also use a variety of apps for social networking and gaming while behind the wheel. These drivers use their mobile devices or other electronic gadgets use these apps. They can often lead to severe accidents. In this post, our St. Louis injury lawyer talks about how apps are causing an increasing in accidents and what legal remedies are available to victims.

Are apps causing an increase in car accidents?

The New York Times provides various examples of apps that are specifically designed for use by drivers and other apps that are frequently used while driving. These include an app called Waze, which is a popular navigation app that rewards users with some points when they report an accident or traffic jam they come across while driving. Snapchat is another app that makes it possible for drivers to post the speed of their car as they are driving. Another app that has become increasingly popular is Pokemon Go. The game involves looking for Pokemon creatures all over the place including roads.

There have been various accidents associated with the use of apps. For example, in 2015, a teen was allegedly using Snapchat when she crashed her vehicle into an Uber and injured the driver. The Snapchat photo from just before the accident shows that she was traveling well over 100 mph. In another accident that resulted in five fatalities, a Snapchat video from before the crash showed that the vehicle was travelling at 115 mph.

With more drivers embracing technology and using these apps more frequently, accident rates have increased significantly. In the first half of this year, there were around 17,775 accidents, which means a 10.4 percent increase in accidents over the same time period in the previous year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, this situation is nothing short of a crisis and needs to be addressed at an urgent basis. One important way to address this problem is to help drivers understand that the use of these apps is causing an increase in traffic fatalities.

When a driver causes injuries or fatalities as a result of distraction caused by the use of an app or cell phone in general, he/she may be held liable. If you or someone close to you have been injured in a crash caused by a driver who was found using an app at the time of accident, you should contact a qualified and experienced St. Louis auto accident attorney to understand your rights and recover adequate compensation for all your losses.