It’s funny that no one likes to be behind our around a distracted driver; however, in a recent study we completed, it seems that over 90% of us are driving distracted.
And guess what:
The same 90% of us actually think there should be laws that ban distracted driving.
In this post today I am going to go over some of the data we uncovered as well as what this means for us as people driving our cars in America.
Phone Death Nation
Due to the rise in cell phone related deaths, the United States could be the first country to list “Cell Phone” as a Top 10 cause of death.
Now, it may seem funny when you first read this; however, the numbers don’t lie.
We found that over 88% of drivers use their Smartphone while driving… Yes, 88%, and what are they doing on their smartphones:
- 80% of them are holding our smartphones and talking
- 68% of them are texting
- 15% of them are taking selfies
- 5% of them are going “Live” while driving
Since 1 in every 4 car accidents are caused by some form of texting and driving, you can start to see the picture here.
And, it isn’t just texting and driving, pedestrians are also being killed by vehicles merely because they won’t look both ways before crossing the street.
Our survey showed that In 2019 over 80% of drivers witnessed people walk across the street while looking down at their cell phones.
This is bizarre because one of the first lessons I learned as a child was to “Look Both Ways” before I crossed the street and I know it is still being taught in schools.
Finally, you have the Selfie Stick people, in 2017 more than 90 people died from a selfie-related fall death.
These people died just because they wanted to take a picture at the highest point of some random place, and while these deaths are unfortunate, they were all avoidable.
It is incredible how much we actually risk our lives every day only because we own a cell phone.
Distractions… What Distractions?
On top of being a nation of people who love our phones to death… literally, we also have a horrible habit of driving while distracted.
While texting and driving is being considered the new “Drunk Driving,” it isn’t the only thing distracting us.
The highest cause of accidents, coming in at around 65%, is being lost in thought.
We are so deep in thought about everything else that we forget we are driving.
It sounds insane, but it’s true.
We also found that 80% of drivers are eating food when they drive and that more than 90% of them are drinking some form of beverage.
About 20% of drivers are putting on makeup, and over 10% of them are watching television.
So, imagine with me if you will, on an average drive, someone will be texting, eating something, drinking something and, or holding their phone and talking or even taking a selfie.
It is truly amazing that some of us make it home alive daily.
It Starts With The Teens
The group of respondents hit the hardest by this new epidemic are the teens, we found that over 21% of teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by their cell phones.
On top of that, car crashes have become the number one cause of death for teens, and they are 3 times more likely to be in a fatal car crash than any other group.
It is essential that we have very detailed conversations with your teens about driving, several apps on the phone lock the phone when teens are driving.
There is even a device that won’t let them start their cars unless they have their seatbelt on.
This might seem excessive, but the fact that drunk driving deaths are decreasing but distracted driving deaths are increasing in teens, means that we have to take drastic measures.
Taking Action
There are a few things you can do to help prevent some of these unnecessary accidents and crashes.
AT&T has a program called “It Can Wait” which has over 36 Million people who have pledged not to drive distracted.
The NSC has the Road to Zero Initiative which is focusing on eliminating traffic fatalities by 2050.
And then there is the End Distracted Driving Campaign that has over 700 volunteer speakers that speak to kids and parents all over the country about the dangers of distracted driving.
Last but not least, you can just get in your car, and actually, focus on driving.