Delivery drivers constantly interact with phones and GPS devices while driving—checking orders, navigating to addresses, communicating with customers, and updating delivery status. This technology dependence creates significant distracted driving risks that cause accidents.
The Distraction Epidemic
Modern delivery operations require drivers to use smartphones and in-vehicle devices constantly. Unlike typical drivers who might occasionally check a phone, delivery drivers have job-mandated reasons to interact with devices throughout their shifts.
Common distractions include checking delivery apps for order details and updates, using GPS navigation with frequent destination changes, responding to customer messages about delivery preferences, scanning packages or confirming deliveries, and taking photos of delivered packages.
Three Types of Distraction
Distracted driving involves visual distraction (eyes off the road), manual distraction (hands off the wheel), and cognitive distraction (mind off driving). Phone use involves all three types simultaneously, making it particularly dangerous.
Even "hands-free" navigation involves cognitive distraction as drivers process directions and plan routes. Voice-activated systems don't eliminate distraction—they just change its form.
Company Policies and Liability
Delivery companies know their drivers must use phones and devices. This creates potential liability:
If companies require phone use while driving, they may be directly liable for creating dangerous conditions. Apps that require constant interaction during driving shifts create foreseeable distraction hazards.
If companies fail to train on safe device use or don't enforce distraction policies, negligent training claims may apply.
If companies know drivers use phones unsafely but take no action, conscious disregard for safety supports enhanced damages.
App Design Liability
Some argue that delivery app interfaces designed for use while driving—requiring constant interaction and providing time-sensitive alerts—constitute negligent design. Apps could be designed to minimize driving distraction but often aren't.
This emerging theory may create liability for app developers and platform operators beyond traditional vicarious liability for driver negligence.
Evidence of Distraction
Proving distraction at the moment of an accident requires investigating phone records showing calls, texts, or app activity at the time of collision, witness observations of the driver looking at a phone, the driver's own admissions about device use, data from the delivery app showing interaction timestamps, and vehicle telematics showing no braking or evasive action.
Subpoenaing phone records and app data is essential for distraction cases. This evidence can definitively establish whether the driver was using devices at the moment of impact.
GPS and Navigation Distractions
Delivery drivers constantly input new addresses into navigation systems. Unlike commuters following familiar routes, delivery drivers navigate to unfamiliar destinations throughout their shifts.
GPS interaction while driving—entering addresses, reviewing route options, responding to rerouting—creates substantial distraction even when drivers believe they're using technology safely.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Risks
Distracted delivery drivers are particularly dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. These vulnerable road users require driver attention to spot, and distracted drivers often fail to see them until too late.
Delivery routes through residential areas and commercial districts put distracted drivers near concentrations of pedestrians.
Pursuing Distraction Claims
If you suspect distraction caused your accident, note any observations of the driver using a phone, request that police investigate phone records, photograph any devices visible in the vehicle, and identify witnesses who may have seen pre-accident behavior.
An experienced attorney can subpoena phone records, app data, and company communications that establish distraction. This evidence often proves decisive in showing driver negligence and company liability for creating distraction-inducing conditions.