April is Distracted Driving Month: Are You Safe On the Road?
Like it or not, we’re constantly connected. Our technological gadgets have, in many ways, become an extension of our bodies and we seemingly rely on them almost as much as we do on the air we breathe. Such is our device obsession that we might not even fully realize the danger we put ourselves (and everyone else) in when we tempt the fates and look down at our screens while we’re behind the wheel. While the percentage of drivers who used mobile phones or other electronic devices decreased from 2015 to 2016 by .5%, experts say there’s a lot more room for improvement — hence the need for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
A recent survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that there’s been a significant increase in the number of drivers who admitted to talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel. Almost half of the drivers surveyed reported to phoning someone while operating a vehicle and nearly 45% said they’d read an email or text message while driving. Around 35% said they’d sent a text or email. According to these findings, at least, it seems that despite everything we know about the dangers of using technology on the road, the problem is getting worse.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,477 people are killed every year due to distracted driving on U.S. roads. Most are eager to blame cell phones and other electronics, which makes sense, given the fact that approximately 660,000 American drivers use these gadgets at any given daylight moment while driving. But cell phones may not be the only problem here. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety cites estimates conducted by the federal government, which state that the rate of drivers having cell phone conversations while driving has declined by 28% since 2013; the percentage now stands at only 6%. That finding seems to be in opposition to the AAA Foundation’s survey outlined above. And yet, every one in four people blamed their accidents on smartphones or other distractions in a recent survey. So what’s going on here?
It could have something to do with a lack of both awareness and honesty on the part of American drivers. In the aforementioned survey conducted by Arity, most participants were of the mind that others are “bad drivers” but that they themselves were not. The results suggest that while people are becoming more aware of what constitutes distracted driving behaviors, they’re under the impression that only they are immune to the risks.
The survey found that while many drivers will freely admit they notice other motorists texting and typing on their phone, they’re less likely to own up to doing it themselves. And when they do take ownership of reading texts or watching cell phone videos while driving, they know all too well that they cannot do so safely. Perhaps most telling, two-thirds of drivers surveyed rated their ability to avoid distractions better than other drivers — yet many think that behaviors that allow both hands to remain on the steering wheel aren’t nearly as dangerous as, say, dialing a number or replying to a text.
Those same sorts of conclusions are echoed in the AAA Foundation’s survey, which found that 58% of drivers felt talking on a cellphone while driving was a serious threat to their personal safety and that 78% believed texting while driving was highly dangerous.
But what about other distracted driving behaviors like using a GPS, eating while driving, or switching the song on the radio? Those might not get as much of the attention, but they’re often just as bad. The truth is that anything that distracts you from the task at-hand — driving safely — is a danger to yourself and others, explains Maryland State Police spokesperson Ron Snyder.
“Cell phone use is an issue but distracted driving is far more than just cell phone use. That could be eating and drinking while driving. It could be grooming yourself while driving. It can be fiddling with the knobs on the panel while driving or watching a video while driving.”
Last year, Maryland police officers made it their mission to curb distracted driving behaviors by issuing 17,000 citations to motorists. Departments in other areas of the country have started to crack down, too: such citations for distracted driving in Pennsylvania have increased by a staggering 172% since 2013. Since the amount of devices that connect to the internet is expected to increase to 50 billion by 2020, it’s likely that local police departments won’t be able to slow their efforts any time soon.
Ultimately, distracted driving is about more than just improper cell phone use. While only 16% of all car crash fatalities can be attributed to distraction, the situation isn’t likely to improve without increased (self-)awareness. It’s an excellent rule of thumb to keep all electronic devices stowed away while you’re behind the wheel, motorists need to become more aware of other distracted behaviors, too. Even carrying on a conversation with passengers or listening to a song on full blast could have drastic consequences. By refusing to minimize these behaviors and realize that a distracted driving accident could, in fact, happen to you, Americans may yet be able to reduce their risk of being involved in a crash.
