NEW CONCERNS ABOUT DRIVERS WHO ARE DISTRACTED BY DEVICES

NBC Nightly News on Wednesday 12/8 had a story [link] about new results of an annual survey conducted by State Farm Insurance about driver’s use of cellphones, accessing the internet and other “connected car” features. The survey concludes that driver’s eyes are on lots of stuff other than the road. 

Since 2009, State Farm has surveyed consumers regarding their attitudes and behaviors regarding driver distraction. The survey is conducted online. The survey includes responses from approximately 1,000 licensed drivers ages 18+.

Use of the Internet and interacting with navigation devices were up sharply from 2009 and 2015. Several new common driver activities were added in the 2015 survey.

 DRIVER ACTIVITIES MEASURED BY STATE FARM SURVEY

ACTIVITY	2009	2015
Talk on hand-held cellphone	65%	51%
Talk on hands-free cellphone	42%	55%
Access & Listen to Navigation Device	41%	73%
Access the internet	13%	29%
Read Social Media	9%	21%
Talk with passenger(s)	--	95%
Take photo with phone	--	19%
Record video with phone	--	10%
Attend to pet in vehicle	--	22%

MOST DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES: TEXTING & ONLINE BROWSING

According to the survey, drivers are becoming more distracted while driving, particularly because of the increased use of the Internet (such as email) and texting.  These activities often require intense concentration taking the driver’s eyes off the road.

Research by the AAA Foundation says it takes drivers up to 27 seconds to return to full attention after using in-car devices. A vehicle traveling at 25 miles per hour covers over 100 yards in that time.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that almost 40% of distracted driving accidents happen at intersections when traffic has stopped at a red light. The NHTSA said 3,179 people died in 2014 in accidents where the driver was distracted. Many of those victims were the drivers themselves.

State Farm calls the results are “worrisome.” They attribute the rise in distracted driver accidents, in part, to the increased use of smartphones. 88 percent of the survey's approximately 1,000 respondents owns one of these devices. Over five years the most dramatic increase has been among drivers over 40 years of age.

PERCENTAGE OF DRIVERS WITH CELLPHONES THAT ARE SMARTPHONES

	2011	2015
Ages 18 - 29	78%	99%
Ages 30 - 39	65%	97%
Ages 40 - 49	47%	92%
Ages 50 – 64%	44%	79%
Ages 65%	23%	69%

Researchers say the most distracting dashboard is in the Mazda 6. Mazda's system requires multiple steps, has poor voice detection and take longer to complete tasks.

2014 Mazda 6i

NEW LAWS & INSURANCE RATES INCREASE

State and federal governments have made it illegal to hold a phone to talk or text while driving. Now being discussed is making access to the Internet illegal when a vehicle is in motion.

Vehicle insurance rates continue to rise in part because of distracted drivers. One of the nation’s top insurers, Allstate, is increasing rates in some states by five to seven percent. Repair costs are also rising in part because of the cost of distracted driving devices.