Eyes on the Phone, Not the Road: Why Rideshare Drivers Get Distracted More Often
Posted December 22nd, 2025 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Attorney Anthony Carbone, Auto Accidents, Lyft Accident, Personal Injury.
You settle into the back seat of your Lyft, ready for a safe ride home. Within minutes, you notice your driver constantly glancing down at their phone, tapping the screen, reading notifications, and adjusting the GPS. Their attention bounces between the road, the device, and back again. You feel increasingly nervous as the car drifts slightly between lanes. Then it happens. The driver looks down just as traffic ahead slows, and they slam into the vehicle in front. You’re injured because your driver couldn’t keep their eyes on the road. This scenario plays out with alarming frequency in rideshare accidents. Understanding why rideshare drivers face unique distraction risks and what to do if you’re injured can protect your rights and help you recover compensation.
At The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we help victims of distracted driving accidents hold negligent rideshare drivers accountable.
Why Rideshare Driving Creates a Perfect Storm for Distraction
Rideshare drivers face pressures and demands that most other drivers don’t experience. These factors combine to make distraction not just possible but practically inevitable.
Constant Phone Interaction
Unlike typical drivers who might occasionally check their phones, rideshare drivers must interact with their devices continuously throughout their shifts. They monitor the app for new ride requests, accept or decline trips, follow GPS navigation, read passenger pickup instructions, and update ride status. Every one of these actions requires looking at and touching the phone while operating a vehicle in traffic.
Navigation in Unfamiliar Areas
Rideshare drivers frequently pick up passengers in neighborhoods they don’t know well. They rely heavily on GPS navigation to find addresses, navigate complex routes, and avoid traffic. Constantly checking turn-by-turn directions takes their attention away from the road, other vehicles, and potential hazards.
App Notifications and Alerts
Throughout each trip, drivers receive notifications about upcoming turns, route changes, passenger messages, and new ride opportunities. These alerts create strong pressure to look at the phone immediately rather than waiting for a safe moment. Missing a turn or declining a lucrative ride request can cost drivers money, creating incentive to respond instantly even while driving.
Passenger Interactions
Drivers must communicate with passengers about routes, destinations, and preferences. They may need to help with luggage, answer questions about arrival times, or handle special requests. These interactions pull attention away from driving, especially when combined with phone use.
Pressure to Maximize Earnings
Rideshare drivers earn money based on completed trips. This creates pressure to rush between pickups, quickly accept new rides, and multitask to minimize downtime. Rather than pulling over safely to interact with the app, many drivers attempt to manage everything while moving through traffic.
All of these factors work together to make distracted driving more common among rideshare drivers than among typical motorists.
How Distraction Leads to Serious Crashes
Even brief moments of inattention can cause devastating accidents. When rideshare drivers take their eyes off the road to check their phones, several types of crashes become more likely.
Rear-End Collisions
A driver focused on their phone fails to notice when traffic ahead slows or stops. By the time they look up, it’s too late to brake. They slam into the vehicle in front, often at significant speed. Passengers suffer whiplash, back injuries, and head trauma from the sudden impact.
Lane Departure Accidents
Distracted drivers drift out of their lanes, sideswiping adjacent vehicles or crossing into oncoming traffic. They may also run off the road entirely, striking guardrails, curbs, or other obstacles. These accidents can cause severe injuries and vehicle damage.
Intersection Crashes
Drivers checking their phones miss traffic signals, run red lights, or fail to yield right of way. They enter intersections without proper awareness, causing T-bone collisions with crossing traffic. These side-impact crashes often result in serious injuries.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Strikes
Distracted drivers fail to notice pedestrians in crosswalks or cyclists sharing the road. A moment of inattention can result in catastrophic injuries or death for vulnerable road users.
Even at lower speeds, these accidents cause significant harm to passengers who trusted their driver to operate safely.
Who Pays When Distraction Causes Your Injuries?
Determining liability in distracted rideshare driving accidents involves examining the driver’s actions and the applicable insurance coverage.
Driver Responsibility
Drivers have a legal duty to operate their vehicles with reasonable care and attention. Using a phone while driving, whether for navigation, app management, or communication, violates this duty when it causes an accident. Distracted drivers can be held liable for all resulting injuries and damages.
Evidence proving distraction includes phone records showing app activity at the time of the crash, witness statements about the driver’s behavior before the accident, police observations of the driver holding or using a phone, and traffic camera footage showing erratic driving patterns consistent with distraction.
Rideshare Company Insurance
When a rideshare driver is actively working at the time of an accident, the company’s commercial insurance policy typically provides coverage. If the driver was transporting you as a passenger or heading to pick you up, substantial insurance coverage should apply to compensate you for injuries.
However, rideshare companies and their insurance carriers often try to minimize claims. They may argue the driver was not distracted or that other factors caused the accident. Strong evidence and experienced legal representation become essential to overcome these defenses.
Multiple Contributing Factors
Sometimes distraction combines with other negligent behaviors like speeding, following too closely, or fatigue. New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence law allows for allocation of fault among multiple parties. Even when other factors exist, distraction often plays a primary role in causing the crash.
Protecting Your Rights After a Distracted Driving Accident
If you are injured when a distracted rideshare driver causes an accident, taking immediate steps strengthens your claim and protects your ability to recover compensation.
Get Medical Attention Immediately
See a healthcare provider right away, even if injuries seem minor. Distracted driving accidents commonly cause whiplash, concussions, back and neck injuries, and soft tissue damage that may not produce immediate symptoms. Medical documentation links your injuries to the accident and establishes their severity.
Call Police to the Scene
Request that law enforcement respond and create an official accident report. Tell officers if you observed the driver using their phone or behaving in a distracted manner before the crash. Their observations and the official report become crucial evidence.
Document Everything
Photograph all vehicle damage, the accident scene, road conditions, and visible injuries. If you saw the driver using their phone, note this in writing while the memory is fresh. Collect contact information from witnesses who can verify the driver’s distracted behavior.
Preserve Ride Information
Save all details from your rideshare app including driver name and photo, vehicle information, route, timing, and any messages exchanged. This data proves you were a passenger and may reveal patterns of distraction.
Do Not Accept Quick Settlements
Insurance companies often contact victims quickly with low settlement offers designed to close claims cheaply. Do not accept any offer or sign releases before consulting an attorney who can properly value your claim.
Contact Experienced Legal Help
Distracted driving cases require thorough investigation and strong advocacy. The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone knows how to gather evidence proving driver distraction, navigate complex rideshare insurance policies, and fight for full compensation covering all your damages including medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and future treatment needs.
Demand Accountability and Fair Compensation
You trusted your rideshare driver to focus on getting you safely to your destination. When they chose to prioritize their phone over your safety, they violated that trust and caused your injuries. With skilled legal representation, you can hold distracted drivers accountable and recover the compensation you need to pay medical bills, replace lost income, and move forward with your life.
