{"id":1388,"date":"2016-04-08T12:03:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T17:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=1388"},"modified":"2017-11-20T21:12:10","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T02:12:10","slug":"snapping-your-speed-lets-slow-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2016\/04\/08\/snapping-your-speed-lets-slow-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapping Your Speed? Let’s Slow Down…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Snapping Your Speed? Let’s Slow Down…<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Robert Maxwell Campbell, Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Snapchat, founded by Evan Spiegel just over four years ago, has transformed from merely a \u201csexting app\u201d to a social media pipeline comparable to the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.[1] In fact, in 2016, Snapchat is expected to exceed 200 million users, a number that Spiegel and his co-founders could never have predicted when ascertaining the idea at Stanford University in 2011.[2]<\/p>\n

Only a year after its launch, Facebook\u2019s CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly attempted to buy the app for $3 billion[3], an offer that was ultimately turned down. Regardless, if Zuckerberg is knocking on your door, you\u2019re probably doing something right.<\/p>\n

The idea behind Snapchat is relatively simple. A user can send pictures or short videos to friends, while incorporating different filters, effects, text captions, and drawings. However, unlike traditional social media platforms, these \u201csnaps\u201d only last up to ten seconds, and are then gone forever once viewed. In 2013, Snapchat added \u201cstories\u201d to the app, now allowing users to create a narrative of photos or short videos strung together, which are available to all of the user\u2019s followers for twenty-four hours.[4]<\/p>\n

Among other intricacies of Snapchat, the forever-changing and often socially relevant filters help the app maintain an ultramodern feeling. These filters range from merging your face with a cartoon animal\u2019s to incorporating a logo representing the city where the snap occurred. One of the most controversial filters Snapchat offers, though, is one that displays how fast you\u2019re currently traveling when the picture or video was taken.<\/p>\n

This becomes even more worrisome when taking into account that Snapchat primarily targets teenagers. As by August 2014, 40% of 18 year olds in the United States were using Snapchat on a daily basis.[5] These same 18 year olds are generally new and inexperienced drivers who sometimes use the filter to \u201cbrag\u201d about how fast they are going.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to see how fast you can get, so when you get to open lanes, you just kick it,\u201d said Shawn Bradley from Burlington, New Jersey.[6]<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just teenagers, though. We\u2019ve all seen it-a Snapchat Story of a friend driving on the highway, lip-syncing the wrong words to Stacy\u2019s Mom<\/em>, with 100 MPH flashing across the screen. And we\u2019ve all had the same thought…\u201dDamn, he must <\/em>be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Snapchat hasn\u2019t caught up in the field of litigation, most snaps fall into the standard prohibition against texting and driving in Pennsylvania.[7] The dangers of texting and driving are widely apparent, and this \u201cMPH filter\u201d creates the greater possibility for a dangerous driving experience. While unintentional, as these filters aren\u2019t designed to be utilized while operating a vehicle, even giving warning not to use them in that fashion, their existence alone, coupled with Snapchat\u2019s teenage-based target market, creates another potential distraction for new drivers.<\/p>\n

Under 75 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 1621, taking effect in Pennsylvania in 2014, a driver, aside from emergency situations under (c), is prohibited from engaging in texting while driving a commercial motor vehicle.[8] Texting, according to the statute, \u201cincludes, but is not limited to, short message service, e-mailing, instant messaging, a command or request to access an Internet web page, pressing more than a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication using a mobile telephone or engaging in any other form of electronic text retrieval or entry, for present or future communication.\u201d[9]<\/p>\n

Considering this definition of texting, it is uncertain whether taking a single photo would qualify under this prohibition, though \u201c[a]ny time the eyes are diverted from the road and down to the palm of the hand [or to a camera,] there is an increased risk of a rear end accident or any type of car accident in general.\u201d[10] Nonetheless, typing the accompanying text that typically goes with a standard snap would certainly fit the definition.<\/p>\n

On December 20, 2015, a Philadelphia woman was speeding when her car hit a parked tractor-trailer, taking her life and the lives of two passengers.[11] There has been evidence pointing to the use of Snapchat just minutes before the crash, as several sources confirmed that the driver had been \u201csnapping\u201d her speed using the MPH filter.[12] Ethe Hill, the mother of one of the victims, believes that this filter is essentially encouraging people to drive faster.[13]<\/p>\n

While Snapchat\u2019s role in the accident was never confirmed, and there has yet to be a court case in which Snapchat has been determined to be the cause of a car accident, the dangers associated with this app, and especially the MPH filter, are discernible. Moreover, they typically fall under the standard prohibition against texting and driving in Pennsylvania and are illegal.<\/p>\n

So, in total, if you feel the need to perform a terrible rendition of Stacy\u2019s Mom<\/em> in the car (isn\u2019t that song like 12 years old?), just make sure you\u2019re in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Nick Bilton, \u201cDisruptions: Indiscreet Photos, Glimpsed Then Gone,\u201d New York Times, May 6, 2012, http:\/\/bits.blogs.nytimes.com\/2012\/05\/06\/disruptions-indiscreet-photos-glimpsed-then-gone\/?_r=1<\/p>\n

[2] David Azizi, \u201cHow Many Car Accidents Has Snapchat Cause?\u201d The Law Officers of David Azizi, January 7, 2015 https:\/\/www.davidazizipersonalinjury.com\/car-accidents-snapchat-caused\/<\/p>\n

[3] Jeff Bercovici, \u201cFacebook Tried To Buy Snapchat For $3B In Cash. Here\u2019s Why,\u201d Forbes.com, November, 13, 2013 http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jeffbercovici\/2013\/11\/13\/facebook-wouldve-bought-snapchat-for-3-billion-in-cash-heres-why\/#665b632079ed<\/p>\n

[4] Snapchat Blog, \u201cSurprise!\u201d October 3, 2013, http:\/\/snapchat-blog.com\/post\/62975810329\/surprise<\/p>\n

[5] Macello Ballve, \u201cSnapchat\u2019s Explosive Growth Among Teens and Millennials Means It\u2019s Emerging As a Powerful Brand Platform,\u201d August 14, 2014, http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/a-primer-on-snapchat-and-its-demographics-2014-7<\/p>\n

[6] Wendy Saltzman, \u201cDid Snapchat Play Role In Deaths of 3 Young Women?\u201d February 16, 2016, http:\/\/6abc.com\/technology\/did-snapchat-play-role-in-deaths-of-3-young-women\/1196846\/<\/p>\n

[7] 75 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 1621<\/p>\n

[8] 75 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 1621(a), (c)<\/p>\n

[9] 75 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 1621(e)(1)<\/p>\n

[10] Azizi, Supra<\/em><\/p>\n

[11] Saltzman, Supra<\/em><\/p>\n

[12] Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[13] Id. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Snapping Your Speed? Let’s Slow Down… By Robert Maxwell Campbell, Staff Writer Snapchat, founded by Evan Spiegel just over four years ago, has transformed from merely a \u201csexting app\u201d to a social media pipeline comparable to the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.[1] In fact, in 2016, Snapchat is expected [\u2026] <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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