Today’s drivers have more than enough distractions to keep their minds off the road, making driving while distracted an accident looking for a place to happen.
While you would like to believe that everyone out on the road is careful, cautious, alert and paying attention to what they are doing while driving a large and potentially deadly vehicle, that is not always the case. Consider the circumstances involved in one really bizarre case where a woman relied on her global positioning system for instructions instead of paying attention to where she was. The result was an accident that could have been avoided.
Sure, GPS systems have their place in driving, but what if the GPS system, as may be the case here, is not accurate? If you are not watching where you are going and what you are doing, you too could have an accident, and not necessarily a minor one.
You may recall the story of a woman who was walking while distracted and followed the instructions of a GPS to take a route right down the middle of a freeway to get to her destination. She was hit by a car. Walking while distracted and driving while distracted have the same potential to be deadly, the same potential to result in personal injury accidents and the same level of personal distraction that has a serious impact on others.
In the case of the driver relying on a GPS system that provided erroneous directions, the woman was on her way to her daily workout and made a left turn when she was told to by her GPS. What happened was, instead of ending up in the parking lot of the gym, she turned left into the path of another car.
The accident was bad enough that both drivers needed to be treated for injuries. She was two-tenths of a mile from where she should have been and incurred physical injuries to her body and complete embarrassment over how those injuries were inflicted.
Luckily, the GPS driver in this story was not seriously hurt, but then again, the jury may still be out on that issue, as seemingly insignificant injuries often turn out to be worse than they look. As for the whole story itself, either you believe the GPS did the deed of providing lousy instructions that caused an accident or you believe that the woman just was not paying attention and caused the accident without the help of the GPS. Should this case go to trial, the outcome may be interesting.
For accident victims who have been in a crash and sustained personal injuries as the result of someone else’s negligence, make it a point to discuss your case with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.
Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.
