Traffic safety advocates are hoping to combat the distracted driving dangers posed by handheld communication technology with another high tech innovation: virtual reality. The Peer Education Summit on Distracted Driving is attempting to instruct high school students on the risks posed by sending text messages while behind the wheel of a moving automobile, by inviting them to use a virtual reality simulation program designed to recreate the experience of attempting to drive a car while texting. Students participating in the program experience the simulated consequences of causing an injury collision or hitting a pedestrian due to the distractions of text messaging. The program hopes the experience of killing a virtual pedestrian will help convince a teenage driver to put his or her phone away for the duration of a car trip. According to safety experts, sending a text message takes a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of five seconds. When traveling at 55 miles per hour, a vehicle travels approximately 100 yards, or the length of a football field.
As a car accident attorney in Ventura, I have seen the irreparable damage that motorists can cause when they take their eyes and attention away from the road ahead of them. If you or someone you care for has been injured in an automobile accident linked to inattentive driving, lease consider contacting a Long Beach car accident lawyer.