During the pandemic, distracted driving increased, and it hasn’t gone down since.
Until relatively recently, good data on the problem of distracted driving has been hard to find. The government estimates that 3,522 people died because of it in 2021, but experts say the official number probably majorly undercounts the number of deaths, in part because police are rarely able to definitively prove that a driver was distracted right before a crash.
In the last few years, though, the data on distracted driving has gotten better. Cambridge Mobile Telematics is a company that partners with major insurance companies to offer downloadable apps that drivers can use to save money on their rates. Via the apps, Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) uses mobile phone sensors to measure driving behavior, including whether a person is speeding, holding their phone, or interacting with an unlocked screen while driving (the company says it doesn’t collect information on what the drivers are doing on their phones). Its work gives the company insight into the driving behaviors of more than 10 million people.
CMT recently analyzed driver behavior during millions of car trips. What it found should be troubling to anyone who uses a road in the US: During the pandemic, American drivers got even more distracted by their phones while driving. The amount of distracted driving hasn’t receded, even as life has mostly stabilized.
Portable, purposefully addictive services were a mistake.
Giving up a large portion of our cities and towns to large death machines that can be operated by distracted humans was a mistake.
There’s literally nothing in your social life, family life, social media life, etc that’s more important than driving while you’re driving. Put the fucking phone down. You will eventually one day crash or kill someone.
At the same time, whatever one’s destination is will still be there if one is three minutes behind the scheduled time one planned on arriving. Yet so many think driving is a Mad Max race to beat all the other cars that are, spoiler alert, not going to the same destination. If one is chronically late, just leave earlier.
So many just cram every step of life into driving, I remember one day some years back when I saw a woman driving down an interstate at 70MPH with her visor down so she could put her eye makeup on with one hand while eating a burger in the other. Like, what led your life to this point that you ever thought any of this was a good idea?
For all our intelligence, we humans are hilariously dumb animals when it comes right down to it.
The real answer is a better mixed-mode transportation system, at least in the US. Our rich became so addicted to all the money involved in cars existing that they crippled our country’s evolution. Really hope the trend of younger generations not owning cars, and modern cars being insanely overpriced continues, it’ll drive the car right out of the equation.
Literal karen drivers and decades of car-centric mentality is fueling this cesspool.
What if I’m walking someone through how to disarm a bomb, huh?! /s
In that case, get a bigger car and drive faster.
Pulling over might help
I’ve noticed it the most at stop lights. Light turns green and the person in front of you takes forever to get moving or you have to honk.
BUY A DASHCAM.
Been in and around auto insurance over a decade.
Fifty bucks for a Vava or other well known brand.
Best investment you’ll make when someone takes you out.
So I know this is slightly off topic of phone distraction but I’ve been thinking that if phone use ever got regulated there should be something in the rules about built in screens in cars. They are becoming really common and present many of the same problems that phones do, especially when badly designed with key functions like AC built in to them. It feels like the problem isn’t about using a phone specifically bit being distracted by screen use.
I usually have to use my horn after every red traffic light turns green.
For years now, every single redlight becomes, “let me text back a paragraph before it turns green” stop.
So they say the sense of users are using the phone functions while driving… that doesn’t mean people are sitting there staring at their phone while driving though. I participate in teams calls while driving to work, from work, and between sites when doing projects at other sites all the time. Does that count as distracted from being on a phone call playing across my car infotainment system? If so how is that different from listening to music, does playing music via pandora or spotify on my infotainment with phone plugged in count as distracted? If so how is that different from standard fm/am radio? Are we expecting people to sit in silence while driving? They’re still just going to zone out from boredom at that point
If so how is that different from listening to music
It is VASTLY different: you participate in conversation. It’s interactive, creates cognitive load (even more than casual talk, because it’s a work call) and takes a part of your attention.
Some people can’t leave their phones alone for five seconds.
I was at the cinema the other day and this fucker sat on the front row and proceeded to keep going on their phone.
I had to resist the strong urge to pelt a minstrel at his head.
I wonder what the stats are based on age. Is it mostly old and young people or is it a issue among all ages?
Pretty much everyone. I have seen it across all age groups.
Insert ADHD side content:
When I got a new vehicle a couple years ago, “functioning” Bluetooth and decent built in mic/speakers were a must. I also wanted a dash and screen that wasn’t distracting. I don’t understand how people can drive Toyota with how busy the dash is. I rented a bunch at the time and every single one was a miserable experience. At least on the infotainment center I can just use Android Auto. Also. Buttons. The only stupid thing I don’t have a physical button for is the damn heated seats. At least it lets me put custom shortcuts at the top of the screen so I don’t have to go digging around. It automatically turns them on when it is cold anyways, so I usually don’t have to mess with it.
Annecdotally, I drive a work van that all day that sits high so I can see most people in their cars. I’ve noticed nearly every age group texting while driving except for seniors.
It’s all demographics. I ride a motorcycle and I can spot who is playing on their phone from way off; the slight swerving, randomly and unnecessary tapping the brakes to maintain speed, unable to regulate follow distance, in stop & go traffic, traffic starts and they don’t. When I pass and look in at them they often still don’t see me.
I see all of you.
You know, I’d never thought until now that this might have been why the dickhead who knocked me off my bike could have missed seeing me.
Food for thought.
Invariably, when I’m on Lincoln Drive in Philly and someone is swerving between both lanes, they are on their cell phone either holding it in their hand to talk or reading and responding to texts.
If you’re not familiar with Lincoln Drive, it’s a winding, twisting road with two lanes in each direction, with a drop to a stream on one side and a rise up a hill on the other.
There’s no shoulder at all for most of the way, so nowhere to go if you’re tailgating and something happens. People are always tailgating. The speed limit is 25mph, but you almost never see traffic going less than 35mph.
I live in a small town and I run through the side streets around me. Have been for years.
This winter season of running (when my evening runs are during dusk/dark) I wear multiple lights and have typically considered myself more visible than during daytime running. However that has not been the case this year. I’ve had to get out of the way of oncoming traffic a few times which has only happened one time previously.
It is ridiculous how little people are paying attention while moving around in 4-6k lb metal cages.
Whether it’s messing with their phone, or their touch screen infotainment systems it’s quite the time be along a roadway trying to exercise.
Yeah, super important to go against the flow of traffic so you can see the cars coming that for some reason aren’t giving any room…
strap an IED to yourself, if they are willing to disregard your life, disregard theirs
This year for the first time, I’ve honestly considered finding two decent sized, easy to carry rocks to run with as encouragement to stay away from me.
Research “ninja rocks.”
I’m already excited by their name alone!!
Too subtle. Need to be jogging with an RPG at the ready.
Well see clearly you don’t run because I’d need two to keep balanced :)
I can steer with my knees just fine thanks
The US really needs better public transportation.
These problems go away when people are able to travel by bus and rail
My favorite is the phone mounted to the steering wheel so they can watch Netflix.
I would have to pull over if I saw that to make sure that car got about a mile away from me before I kept going.
It’s super fun heading down 95 south of DC and seeing two people pass you doing that 15 minutes apart.
