The article discusses this: it’s often not obvious and largely on the honor system, just as police are often extremely deferential to drivers who claim a pedest

The article discusses this: it’s often not obvious and largely on the honor system, just as police are often extremely deferential to drivers who claim a pedestrian “jumped in front” of their car. That means that we’re almost certainly significantly undercounting the number of times it’s a factor. A good analogy would be DUI: Americans really loved their booze and there were many people who felt it was a core freedom to be able to drive after drinking, but eventually the death toll mounted high enough that our social norms changed to include things like designated drivers and doing roadside tests rather than trusting drivers’ claims. Phones will probably follow a similar arc because they are involved in many serious accidents and most people agree that driving safely is not an unreasonable request or a civil liberties violation.