"But Bryant Walker Smith, an assistant professor of law and engineering at the University of South Carolina, thinks the textalyzer bill, Gallatin v. Gargiulocase, and Snapchat suit might suggest an upcoming shift in how society takes on distracted driving. Smith was a transportation engineer before he studied law and he specializes in how emerging technology affects driving. “People often see distracted driving as a socially acceptable sin, a kind of inside joke writ large, an innocuous guilty pleasure in which everyone indulges,” Smith told Vocativ. “The same used to be true of drunk driving, smoking and physical abuse [and other] actions with actual victims. These legal developments could signal that a similar change in thinking is underway regarding distracted driving. They could also help accelerate that change.”
While Smith believes distracted driving could become more stigmatized, he isn’t certain whether phones and app developers will be held accountable for accidents any time soon. “In general, each of us had a duty to act reasonably when those actions expose others to physical harm,” Smith said, likening the legal conversation around distracted driving to the dram shop laws and social host liability that hold alcohol providers accountable for any harm caused by patrons who acquired spirits from the businesses or host while obviously drunk.
But, he points out, manufacturers or technology that endangers lives tends to have a better chance remaining immune from legal repercussions. “Some states and municipalities tried to hold gun manufacturers liable, but courts were skeptical and Congress ultimately intervened to immunize even negligent manufacturers from liability in many situations,” Smith said."