That wasn’t bad luck. That was pushing it waaay too far without glancing up at the road. If I’m on an empty stretch of I-20 hauling my trailer and want to make a quick change on my phone/pad for music or audio book or mapping, I can do so safely with a series of quick glances down at the device. If I’m in traffic, it has to wait until a stoplight. This moron spent what appears to be a full 20-30 seconds “head-down” fiddling with the phone.
When I taught my kids to drive, I accepted the inevitable that they would fiddle with their iBaubles at least some while driving. I taught them (and had them practice) half-second glances followed by an immediate return to eyeing the road. I also picked objects in the distance and timed the approach to demonstrate the amount of roadway covered even in the half-second period. I explained that dealing with the iBauble was acceptable in extremely short bursts, when they could be relatively certain there was no possibility of obstacles, either from sideroads or traffic ahead. This can be done with relative safety, but not like the moron in the video. He must have covered an entire mile while messing with his device.
I am in favor of extreme punishments for this sort of behavior, and also in favor of laws which saddle business/corporations with substantial liability should they contact their employees via cellphone while driving (even while commuting in their personal vehicle).
If it matters, my kids now have 22 years of safe driving under their belts. Zero at fault accidents and 1 ticket is all. (Each has been hit once by shittier drivers, each ruled not at fault)