Smartphone use has grown significantly in the US

One thing that has become common pretty quickly here in America is smartphones. The extent to which the use of such phones has grown over the past few years can be seen in a recent survey. The survey is from the Pew Research Center.

According to the survey results, by late 2016, smartphones were something that over three-fourths (77 percent) of American adults owned. This dwarfs where ownership levels were just a few years ago. For example, in 2011, surveys indicated that only a little over a third (35 percent) of U.S. adults had a smartphone.

And smartphones are not the only handheld device that has seen a huge jump in ownership here in the U.S. in recent times. Another such device is the tablet. Pew estimates that, in 2010, only 3 percent of adult Americans owned a tablet. The recent survey indicates that, as of late 2016, that percentage had jumped all the way up to 50 percent.

Now, the big growth in the use of smartphones and other handheld device does raise some potential concerns. This includes concerns regarding the safety of American roads. Smartphones and similar devices allow people to access and do all sorts of things when out on the go. Unfortunately, this can create temptations for a person to use a smartphone or similar device when driving, rather than keep their attention focused on the road when at the wheel. Such driving distractions can lead to major collisions.

So one wonders, as smartphone use becomes increasingly omnipresent, what it will ultimately end up meaning for how prevalent distracted driving is in America. What do you think the most effective means for helping curtail distracted driving is in an environment in which the bulk of the population has a smartphone or similar device?

When a person is injured by a motorist who was distracted by a smartphone, handheld device or some other object, there can be many key legal issues present that could have big implications for their compensation situation. Skilled car accident lawyers can give distracted driving crash victims guidance and advice when it comes to such issues.