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How Common is Distracted Driving? Study - Video

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/distracted-driving-study/

Source: Digitaltrend.com. Article by Lulu Chang 3-27-'16

The hazards of distracted driving. Have you ever wondered how many people aren't watching the road while driving? This video/study shows how many distracted drivers we're sharing the road with. Nearly nine percent!

"With the advent of smartphones, multitasking while behind the wheel has become all too common, and indeed, all too dangerous. Everyone promises that they're not part of the problem - that they would never text and drive - that may not be all that true."

"To study what driving in the 21st century looks like, Agency SR22 filmed 20 minutes of rush hour trafffic on South Florida's Interstate 95. Of the 2,151 cars they filmed, 185 were driven by distracted drivers. Over 8 percent, an alarming statistic!"

If drivers think it's okay to drive distracted on a busy highway, just imagine how much more is done on slower roads everyday in cities.

If this is true, riding safely might not be good enough.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Hoel on December 17, 2016 at 8:06pm

Tom,

We talk about the importance of being visible, wearing bright clothes and lights on our bikes, and the need for cyclists to be predictable.  All of that is for naught when it comes to distracted drivers.  If they aren't paying attention to their driving as opposed to their cell phones, all of our efforts to be visible are in vain.

Here are some quotes from a Nov. 13, 2016 WSJ article by Scott Griffith:

"For too many people, looking at a smartphone screen while driving is the new normal. According to an AAA survey this year, 42% report reading a text or email behind the wheel, while a 2015 survey conducted by Harris Poll found 30% of drivers admit to texting while driving. Drivers like these are killing and maiming more people every day on the roads."

"But road safety has taken a turn for the worse, according to statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2015, 35,000 people were killed and more than 2.4 million were injured on U.S. highways. The increase in the fatality rate, 7.2% over 2014, is the largest percentage increase in nearly 50 years and stops a 10-year trend of declining fatalities.

NHTSA has called surging auto fatalities “an immediate crisis” based on its data that showed 17,775 deaths in the first six months of 2016, up 10.4% from last year, and about 16% higher than at the six-month mark in 2014. Following this trend, if today is an average day, 100 people will die on U.S. roads.

At least one-fifth of those accidents will likely be related to distracted driving. The same thing will happen tomorrow, and the next day. If this many people were injured and killed every day by some other means, experts would call that an epidemic. Why not this time?"

"According to a recent NHTSA survey, “20 percent of drivers age 18-20 said texting does not affect their driving, and nearly 30 percent of drivers ages 21-34 said texting has no impact.” This is similar to how people thought about driving under the influence of alcohol before law enforcement started paying attention to the data and acted by raising the drinking age, establishing a standard Blood Alcohol Limit (BAC) and creating license revocation laws and ignition interlock laws. Since 1982, drunken driving fatalities are down 52% overall, and 79% for drivers under age 21, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility."

Mr. Griffith is the former chairman and CEO of Zipcar. He is co-founder and chairman of TrueMotion, whose driver-safety app and data science algorithms helps prevent distracted driving. 

Permalink Reply by Matt on February 22, 2017 at 9:19am

So I saw the darndest thing last night...

I was walking in front of the Whole Foods on Kingsbury, smiling to myself that I wasn't a part of the mess that is traffic there.  All of a sudden I see a guy on a bike slowing down next to a car and looking in the window.  My immediate thought was he was cut off or something, and was letting the driver know he was not pleased.

Then the guy shines a flashlight in the window and says something to the tune of, "Please take the cell phone of out of your hands.  You cannot use one in traffic.  It must be hands free, even if you're not moving."  As he rode away, I noticed he was wearing a CPD uniform on a police issued bike.  Imagine that!

I would be very, very happy if this is the beginning of a new trend.  Even though the officer only gave a verbal warning instead of issuing a ticket, I think this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on February 22, 2017 at 11:30am

Wow!

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on February 22, 2017 at 2:00pm

Sadly, riding safely is not good enough and never has been.  Part of survival is the sheer luck of the draw.  Myself, I'd say that 8% is a pretty conservative estimate compared to what I see on the streets of Chicago.  And, to be fair, I see increasing numbers of distracted cyclists, too, on the phone, with earbuds on, riding no handed, and sometimes all three at the same time.  Talking on the phone while driving should be a serious fine.  Texting should be a weekend in jail.  I think a good approach would be impounding the phones of people cited for those offenses.  That would actually get the attention of Americans.  

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