Distracted Driving
“Despite the fact that it deadens a driver's reactions more than alcohol, and in its consequences is as destructive and devastating as drunk driving, attitudes to driving while using a hand-held mobile phone and driving under the influence could not be more different.”
Calum MacDonald, The Herald
Text messaging, talking on a cell phone, styling hair, watching a movie, writing a grocery list, nursing a baby or putting in contact lenses: Secondary activities have become an everyday occurrence behind the wheel of American motorists. A growing shift in focus from the roadway to a multitude of other tasks impairs the ability of modern drivers, and the U.S. traffic statistics mark this drastic change.
Even though research shows that certain influences (such as drowsiness or conversation) cause greater impairment than driving drunk, over 7 million people believe that their focus is unaffected by these behaviors. (Liverpool Victoria)
Distracted driving has eclipsed drunk driving as the Number One safety concern of the driving public.
“From the research that has been done, it's clear that distracted driving is definitely part of the cause in a large amount of accidents out there.”
Bill L. Windsor Jr., Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Facts about Distracted Driving:
- Distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. Alcohol-related accidents among teens have dropped. But teenage traffic fatalities have remained unchanged, because distracted driving is on the rise. (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Study and NHTSA Study)
- While over 90% of teen drivers say they don't drink and drive, nine out of 10 say they've seen passengers distracting the driver, or drivers using cell phones. (National Teen Driver Survey)
- Brain power used while driving decreases by 40% when a driver listens to conversation or music. (Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University Study)
- More than 80% of drivers admit to blatantly hazardous behavior: changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails and shaving. (Nationwide Mutual Insurance Survey)
- Drivers on mobile phones are more impaired than drivers at .08 BAC. (University of Utah Study)
- An estimated million people each day chat on their mobile or send text messages while driving. (The Herald)
“We need to go beyond the message of drinking and driving and also talk about the message of distractions.”
Dr. Flaura Winston, National Teen Driver Survey
Over the past two years almost every legislature has considered or passed laws which address distracted driving.
The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill that would mandate the same penalties for cell phone users and drunk drivers when involved in a fatal accident.
Click here to learn what the laws are in your state.
**These distractions are benchmarked to the established relative crash risk associated with driving with a 0.08% BAC, the legal drunk driving limit in all states.
