If you get a strong craving for a burger or a burrito around Coeur d’Alene, you may satisfy your hunger by pulling up the DoorDash app. You don’t have to wait long before a hot bag of food appears on your doorstep.
One thing you may not realize is that no matter if you order your take-out delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats, it may all be the same driver fielding those orders. Delivery drivers can work for many companies at once to increase their earnings, but it can also make for added stress for someone behind the wheel. All that distraction can turn a DoorDash driver into a traffic hazard while you’re just trying to get to work or school.
Assistance for Coeur d’Alene DoorDash Accident Victims
Food delivery service drivers can be pulling up an order on their cellphone, grabbing a bag about to turn over, or paying attention to anything else when they veer into your lane unaware. If they cause you to be in a serious crash, you might question just how helpful an at-fault driver or DoorDash itself will be in your recovery.
If you find yourself in this confusing situation, talk to a Coeur d’Alene attorney with experience handling big companies and earning compensation for victims. At CCD Law, we are ready to gather the details of your accident and quickly file a claim against the at-fault driver and the company they drive for. Contact us now for a free evaluation of your case.
DoorDash Distracted Driver In Accidents
It may seem like someone is just trying to do their job, but a job that requires constant distraction, from a cellphone no less, can become a true danger for all motorists in Idaho.
The Idaho Statesman reports on the dangers of distracted driving, especially when it involves the use of a cellphone. The newspaper detailed research showing the chances of getting into a crash are four times higher when a driver is talking on the cellphone, the same odds of crashing when driving drunk. A texting driver is six times more prone to cause a collision than a drunk driver.
A DoorDash employee must engage in some distraction just to keep customers happy. That temptation may also lead to some reckless driving.
Here are a few of the distractions and dangerous behavior you might see on Coeur d’Alene roads:
- Cell Phone Notification: An alert that an order has popped can be a happy sound for a DoorDash driver but it can also instantly draw their attention from the road. They must decide to accept the food order and tap to lock it in. All the while, their vehicles continue down the road and perhaps into your lane.
- Working for Multiple Companies – A DoorDash driver may be switching between apps to seek out more orders. It’s a distracting process and more orders mean more inattention to the highway.
- Speedy Service Speedy Driver – Customers want their burritos still warm when they’re delivered. This may encourage a driver to exceed the speed limit and skip a red light to make it in time. DoorDash cars can also become sudden hazards when drivers hit the brakes looking for a particular street.
- Driver emotional and physical state – We can all have a bad day or suffer from a lack of sleep and have to tough out a day at work, but DoorDash drivers work from behind the wheel. Dealing with family issues or a bad customer experience can affect driving performance. A driver may be working too many hours and falling asleep at the wheel.
- Drug or Alcohol use. DoorDash does not tolerate their drivers consuming drugs or alcohol before or during work. These zero-tolerance policies haven’t stopped cases of delivery drivers facing DUI charges. A person working a delivery job is under stricter guidelines than most others. A DoorDash worker must keep their blood alcohol content (BAC) under.04% to legally be behind the wheel. A normal driver must keep their BAC under .08%.
Insurance for DoorDash Drivers in Accidents
DoorDash provides a one million dollar policy for bodily injury and/or property damage if you get hurt by one of their drivers. However, the coverage only applies if the accident occurs while drivers have a food order in their car.
Also, DoorDash’s insurance is meant to be supplemental to the driver’s personal insurance policy. Before you can file a claim against DoorDash you’ll need to bring a claim against the driver’s insurance company. If they deny your claim or don’t cover enough of the cost of medical care and vehicle damage then the DoorDash policy can be called upon.
This can be a frustrating back-and-forth because many insurance companies refuse to cover accidents if their policyholder was driving for a delivery company when the crash occurred.
DoorDash insurance agents and lawyers may try to get out of paying you compensation by putting the blame for the accident squarely on you. They may also claim that they aren’t liable for any part of an accident. Luckily, a Coeur d’Alene attorney protecting you can investigate DoorDash’s hiring and safety records and the driving history of their employee to add extra pressure on the company to accept liability.
Contact a Coeur d’Alene Delivery Driver Accident Attorney
Established in Spokane in 1948, Crary & Domanico, P.S. is licensed and practices in both Washington and Idaho. We are committed to providing our clients with the absolute highest quality legal representation. If our Coeur d’Alene Car Accident Lawyers represent you for an accident involving DoorDash, you have our assurance that we will use our absolute best efforts to win your case. Contact us after any accident resulting in a serious injury for a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation. We will only offer you advice that is in your best interest.
