Every year, the conversation around distracted driving shifts a little. Texting used to be the headline danger. Now drivers along the 405, on Sepulveda Boulevard, and through the beach communities of the South Bay are streaming video, scrolling feeds, and watching content on phones propped against dashboards. The crashes that result look exactly like any other serious collision. Except they were completely preventable.
California has some of the toughest handheld device laws in the country, and it still isn't enough to stop the trend. The numbers keep climbing. The injuries keep happening. And injured people keep finding out the hard way that the other driver's insurance company is not going to make this easy.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. This post breaks down what the data shows about video distraction behind the wheel, what California law means for people hurt by distracted drivers, and what a personal injury claim in the Los Angeles area actually looks like.
If you've experienced an injury due to someone else's negligence, contact Bloom Injury Law today for a free consultation. Call (310) 525-5985 or contact us online.
The short answer is that the phones are getting more compelling faster than the laws are getting stricter.
More than one in five U.S. drivers reported watching streaming video, making video calls, or scrolling social media on most or all of their trips, according to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety survey. A separate survey of 1,600 drivers found that 19% admitted to watching YouTube specifically while driving. Mobile video streaming hours jumped 65% between 2018 and 2020 alone. The drivers most likely to engage in these distracting activities are between 18 and 34, and that age group is also disproportionately represented in distracted driving crash data.
Handheld cell phone use while driving rose 2% from 2024 to 2025, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines distracted driving as any activity that takes a driver's attention away from operating the vehicle. Under that definition, streaming video on a cell phone while driving isn't a close call. It's a primary example.
Los Angeles County sees thousands of distraction-related crashes every year. Stop-and-go traffic on the 405 near El Segundo, surface streets through Hawthorne and Manhattan Beach, and the approaches to LAX create the kind of slow, dense conditions where drivers convince themselves that glancing at a video is fine. Reaction time doesn't care about traffic speed. At any speed, cognitive distraction, visual distractions, and manual distractions hitting simultaneously mean a driver simply cannot respond to what's in front of them.
It eliminates the ability to react. Not reduces it. Eliminates it.
Safety researchers break distraction down into three types: visual distractions, manual distractions, and cognitive distraction. A text message hits all three briefly. Streaming video hits all three and keeps hitting them for as long as the content plays.
Eyes leave the road. Hands loosen on the wheel. The part of the brain responsible for tracking speed, following distance, and the movement of other vehicles around the car moves entirely to a screen. Reaction time during this window isn't just slowed. For practical purposes, it's gone.
At 55 miles per hour, a vehicle covers about 80 feet per second. A driver watching a 10-second clip travels nearly the length of a football field without processing what's in front of them. That's enough distance to miss a pedestrian stepping into a crosswalk on Sepulveda. Enough to fail to brake for a stopped vehicle on the 105. Enough to blow through an intersection in El Segundo without ever seeing the car coming from the left.
California prohibits drivers from holding or using a handheld device while operating a vehicle. Watching streaming video on a cell phone while driving is a direct violation of that law.
For someone hurt in a crash caused by a driver doing exactly that, the legal significance is real. When a driver violates a California traffic statute and the violation causes a crash, it can establish negligence without requiring the injured person to separately prove that the behavior was unreasonable. California law already made that determination.
What still has to be established is the connection between the violation and the specific injuries suffered. That's where building the right evidentiary record becomes critical, and where having a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles on your side matters from the start.
California follows a comparative fault standard. If an injured person bears some responsibility for the crash, their recovery is reduced by that percentage rather than eliminated. This is a more forgiving rule than what exists in states like North Carolina. But a fairer standard doesn't mean a smooth process. Insurance adjusters in California still work hard to assign as much fault as possible to injured people to reduce or deny claims.
When a driver doesn't brake before impact, the collision carries its full force. These crashes tend to produce serious, sometimes permanent injuries.
The South Bay corridor from El Segundo through Torrance and into Redondo Beach carries heavy daily traffic at varying speeds. A crash at 25 miles per hour in a parking lot on Nash Street can produce a serious cervical injury. A freeway collision near the I-105 interchange can be catastrophic. Speed matters less than whether the driver was watching the road.
California personal injury law allows crash victims to pursue compensation for every real loss tied to the other driver's negligence.
Medical expenses are typically the largest component. Emergency response, hospitalization, imaging, surgery, physical therapy, follow-up care, and any treatment tied to the crash are all recoverable. When ongoing treatment is necessary, projected future medical costs belong in the claim.
Lost income covers wages missed during recovery. If the injury affects earning capacity going forward, that future loss is part of the damages calculation too.
Pain and suffering accounts for the physical experience of the injury and the psychological toll it carries. Anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, and the inability to participate in activities that were part of daily life before the crash are all compensable under California law.
Property damage covers the vehicle and any other property lost or destroyed in the collision.
When a distracted driver's choice to watch a video costs someone their life, California's wrongful death statute gives surviving family members a path to pursue accountability.
California's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the crash. That's shorter than many people expect. Starting the process early protects the claim and gives time to build it properly.
Drivers don't admit to it. Most know exactly how bad it looks. That doesn't make the evidence disappear.
Phone records show when a device was active, which apps were running, and whether streaming video was playing at the time of impact. A personal injury attorney in Los Angeles can pursue those records through the legal process. The timing of that request matters because phone carriers don't hold data indefinitely.
Law enforcement agencies document crash scenes, and what an officer observes about cell phone position, driver demeanor, and vehicle behavior before impact becomes part of the official record. Surveillance cameras along South Bay corridors, business parking lots, and residential intersections near El Segundo frequently capture what happened in the moments before a collision. Dashcam footage from nearby vehicles can establish driver attention and pre-impact behavior.
Many newer vehicles include multimedia receivers and infotainment systems that log device usage. Platforms like Android Auto record connection data and active use during a trip. That information doesn't disappear automatically, but it requires prompt legal action to retrieve before it's gone.
Witnesses matter too. Someone who saw the phone in the driver's hand, or who noticed the vehicle drifting before impact, can provide testimony that supports the entire case.
The choices made in the first 48 hours after a crash can affect everything that follows.
Can I file a claim if a driver was watching streaming video when they crashed into me near El Segundo? Yes. Watching streaming video on a cell phone while driving violates California law. When that violation causes a crash and injuries, it supports a personal injury claim.
What if the driver denies being on their phone? Denial doesn't erase the evidence. Phone records, multimedia receiver data, Android Auto logs, and surveillance footage can all establish what the driver was actually doing. A personal injury attorney in Los Angeles can pursue those sources through the legal process.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim after a distracted driving crash in California? Two years from the date of the crash. That's shorter than most people assume. Starting early means evidence can be preserved and the claim can be developed without pressure.
What if the insurance company calls me right away? Quick outreach from an insurer almost always means a quick, low offer is coming. Before accepting anything or giving a recorded statement, speak with our personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash? California's comparative fault rule reduces your recovery by your share of responsibility rather than eliminating it. The specifics matter, and a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles can help establish the accurate picture of what happened.
Can family members file a claim if a distracted driver caused a fatal crash? Yes. California's wrongful death statute allows surviving family members to pursue compensation when driver safety failures cost someone their life.
A driver looked at a screen instead of the road. You're dealing with the consequences. Contact Bloom Injury Law today to speak with our personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles and find out what your case is worth.
If you've experienced an injury due to someone else's negligence, contact Bloom Injury Law today for a free consultation. Call (310) 525-5985 or contact us online.
