Hawaii is known for its incredible scenery on Oahu, from the towering heights of the Pali to the iconic image of Waikiki Beach with Diamondhead in the background. Many people travel to Honolulu simply to take photos of the breathtaking scenery that makes up the island.
And while driving throughout that scenery, you may witness another breathtaking type of photography, that of the “Selfie.” Selfies are self-portraits usually taken with a cellphone and sent via social media like Instagram. While millions of selfies are probably taken every day, a growing “fashion” appears likely to develop into yet another dangerous form of distracted driving. The selfie taken while driving is a trend and no doubt will result in more car accidents.
A report on the Huffington Post notes that there are more than 3 million selfie’s tagged with #driving, and with the inevitable “me too” that seems to dominate much of social media, we can only expect more will take their eyes off the road and smile at their phone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in 2011 more that 3,300 people were killed in car accidents attributed to a distracted driver. We suspect that number is greatly underreported, simply because in many accidents other factors may appear to have caused the accident, such as speeding.
However, while the person may have gone off the road because they were speeding, the distraction caused by texting or taking a selfie may have been the reason they lost control.
For those who have wondered what an air bag looks like as it inflates, if they time it right, they might preserve it forever in a selfie.
Source: The Huffington Post, “People Who Take Selfies On Instagram While Driving Are The Worst People,” Alexis Kleinman, October 31, 2013