Distracted driving is a deadly behavior. Federal estimates suggest that distraction contributes to 16% of all fatal crashes, leading to around 5,000 deaths every year.
The AAA Foundation believes that by improving our understanding of how mental and physical distractions impair drivers and by educating the public about avoiding distractions, we can eliminate these needless deaths.
The AAA also focuses on how distraction affects specific groups. Teens are among the drivers most impaired by distraction.
A recent AAA Foundation in-car study showed that teen drivers were distracted almost a quarter of the time they were behind the wheel. Electronic devices, such as texting, emails, and downloading music, were among the biggest distractions, accounting for 7% of the distractions identified on the study video.
Key Facts: Distraction - Drivers spend more than half their time focused on things other than driving. Know the facts.
Texting and phone calls aren’t the only distractions. Passengers, eating, and in-car technologies can also cause distractions.
Studying the effectiveness of state laws that limit or ban cell phone use while driving is an investment in the safety of our nation’s roads. “Distracted driving hurts the driver, passengers, and everyone on the road, and we must do everything we can to prevent it.
Data regarding car accidents involving cell phone use and/or texting while driving has been limited in the past, but it’s slowly becoming available to the public..
While the popularity of mobile phones has grown enormously in the past two decades, it’s still unclear how greatly cell phone calls and texting contribute to car crashes. What is clear is that talking on the phone and texting behind the wheel both lead to distraction, and driver inattention is the leading cause of car accidents.
Approximately 86% of drivers said they ate or drank while driving at some point, and 57% said they do it “sometimes” or “often.”
Over 1/3 of drivers (37%) have sent or received text messages while driving, and 18% said they do it regularly.
Forty-one percent of adult drivers have set or changed a GPS system while driving, and 21% do it “more frequently.”
Many adult drivers (36%) have read a map while driving, and 10% do it “sometimes” or “often.”
One in five drivers have combed or styled his or her hair while driving. One in ten does it regularly.
Have you ever seen a driver putting on makeup? Approximately 14% have done it once, and 7% do it frequently.
About 13% of adult drivers have surfed the Internet while driving.
Results of the 2011 poll showed that younger drivers were more likely to engage in distracted driving. Men were more likely to drive while drowsy, drive after drinking, read a map, use a GPS system, and use the Internet.
A large percentage of the people said they know distracted driving is dangerous, but do it anyway.
We, as individuals, must take the challenge to bring down this problem of unsafe driving. In the media coverage we see where persons are asking for stricter laws; such as longer jail time and even years of prison time for these fatalities - And these fatalities could be caused by our children, an adult family member or even ourselves. So let’s make every effort to lessen the distracted driving.
TAKE THE PLEDGE to drive distraction-free! We could save a life…
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