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Distracted Driving and Snapchat’s Dangerous Filter

Michael Agruss

Written and Reviewed by Michael Agruss

  • Managing Partner and Personal Injury Lawyer at 844SeeMike.
  • Over 20 years of experience in Personal Injury.
  • Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: Juris Doctor, 2004.

Snapchat is a popular smartphone app which allows users to send and receive photos and videos which disappear within one to ten seconds of being viewed. It also offers “filters” for these photos and videos, including one which posts the user’s speed in miles-per-hour at the time the photo was taken. Unfortunately, some have fooled around with this filter behind the wheel of an automobile, resulting in accidents and serious injuries, including a recent publicized accident outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

According to the lawsuit, a teen driver in Georgia was driving over 100 m.p.h. in a 55-m.p.h. zone, as indicated by the photo she took with Snapchat’s speed-reading filter. This then resulted in an accident, and the driver she hit suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and spent five weeks in an intensive care unit. The teen, though bloodied and in a neck brace, then made a questionable decision immediately following the accident by posting another picture to Snapchat: a “selfie” of herself in the neck brace with the caption “Lucky to be alive.”

A lawsuit has been filed against Snapchat, hopefully to hold the company and/or the teen driver accountable for the victim’s life-changing injuries. Although this particular story went viral, it was not the first serious auto accident involving the speed-reading filter; a similar accident occurred in Philadelphia in December 2015, resulting in the deaths of three women, and many others have occurred without the same widespread attention and controversy. Following the recent Atlanta accident, a statement was offered by Maile Gray, executive director of Drive Smart Colorado:

“It’s not only young people who are easily distracted while driving, but Snapchat does appeal to a younger demographic, and they know it. We don’t need to put more ideas (or applications) into the heads and hands of people when all they should be doing is concentrating on driving and focusing on the road. Put down the phone!”

Although the question of whether Snapchat as a company can be legally responsible for this particular accident is debatable – and will be resolved in the in-progress lawsuit – it is more likely that the driver will be ruled at-fault due to the distraction that she herself incurred, resulting in the accident and the victim’s life-threatening injuries.

Regardless, the consequences of distracted driving are clearly seen in the Atlanta accident: the victim suffered severe and possibly-permanent brain injuries; the teen driver was also hurt; both vehicles were damaged; and the driver will likely be held liable for most, if not all, injuries and damages. Distracted driving can ruin lives in an instant. When you’re behind the wheel, put down the phone!

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a distracted driver, contact 844 See Mike for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals (and their families) who have suffered an injury in an accident. We will handle your case quickly and advise you every step of the way, and we will not hesitate to go to trial for you.

Lastly, 844 See Mike is not paid attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Our no-fee promise is that simple. You have nothing to risk when you hire us – only the opportunity to seek justice.

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