“…But first, let me take a SELFIE!”
If you’ve heard the song, you know it’s a silly song mocking our selfie-obsessed culture, but this obsession has become dangerous and deadly. Taking a nature selfie with a wild, carnivorous animal in the background, or sitting at the edge of a cliff, for example, isn’t a good idea. Real people have lost their lives taking selfies on top of bridges (fell to death), on top of trains (grabbed a live wire), while flying a plane (killed passengers as well), and while posing with a loaded gun at their head (the safety wasn’t on).
One of the most disturbing selfie trends is #drivingselfie. This is when people take a photo of themselves while driving and post it to social media. Instagram, a popular photo-sharing site, has millions of photos tagged #driving. As you can imagine, teen drivers are embracing selfies while driving, but adults are also guilty, and the consequences can be fatal. Courtney Sanford, a 32-year-old North Carolina woman, was killed in an accident when she crossed into oncoming traffic while posting social-medial messages, including photos of herself while she drove.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists surveyed hundreds of individuals about how they use their phones in the car. 9% of those admitted to taking selfies while driving. When the sample of those surveyed was restricted to people 35 years of age and younger, that number went to 17% – with men being more likely than women to take a selfie while driving down the road. Experts say that this type of activity while driving causes a driver to be as impaired as if driving over the legal alcohol limit. Unfortunately, our firm has seen far too many people injured because of distracted drivers.
The use of selfie sticks (sticks that attach to phones to take better selfies) have been banned at most theme parks and many concerts and sports venues because they cause a danger to their owners, other guests, and can compromise the safety of rides by, in effect, extending the length of one’s limbs.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of someone that was distracted while driving, call our team to learn more about your rights.