The folks over at MobileCrunch posed a very interesting question today, who should be held responsible when an accident is caused by a cell phone? The obvious answer would be the driver, right? Well, MobileCrunch gives us this example from an accident that happened in 2008: the family of the deceased is suing Sprint and Samsung, because they feel the wireless carrier and the phone manufacturer is responsible for the accident because driver was distracted by a phone call.

While I don’t agree with the decision to sue Sprint or Samsung, because ultimately the decision to turn on the phone is up to the driver, someone has to shoulder the blame. Even if this case is thrown out by a judge, it’ll be another story highlighting the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. Of course the next best thing to do from a car manufacturer’s point of view, would be to have bluetooth enabled in every car, but car manufacturer’s make millions from these accessories or “luxuries”, they’ll never make it standard. But even with Bluetooth, a driver can still get distracted. I’ve been there. My car had bluetooth enabled but many times when I have to talk to someone and drive long distances in high traffic areas, it gets tough and with young drivers out on the road, it makes it that much more dangerous.

What do you think? Who should ultimately be responsible for an accident stemming from cell phone usage in a car?