As more people have smartphones in Connecticut and across the U.S., concern is growing that drivers are not paying strict attention to the road. Distracted driving is becoming so worrisome that more and more studies are being conducted to determine how prevalent the problem really is and what can be done about it. The latest was conducted by Zendrive.
According to the site, this study is the largest distracted driving behavior study ever conducted. Over three months, it examined 3 million anonymous drivers who went on 570 million trips over 5.6 billion miles.
In the study, it was found that drivers use their smartphones in 88 of 100 trips. This means that almost every time a person gets behind the wheel of a car, they are using their smartphones while driving and therefore, distracted in some way. And, when these statistics are adapted to the whole population, it comes to 600 million distracted drivers every day.
The average amount of time these drivers spent on their phone over the course of an hour was 3.5 minutes. The chance of an auto accident increased by a factor of 20 when the driver takes his or her eyes off the road for two seconds. When traveling 55, two seconds is enough to travel the distance of two basketball courts.
While law enforcement and lawmakers are trying to find ways to reduce distracted driving, smartphones have become so ingrained in everyday behavior that it is growing difficult to tamp down on the practice. Since texting and driving and other distracted behaviors can cause an auto accident, leading to injuries and death, it is a problem that can cost significant amounts of money, ruin families and more. Those who have been injured or lost a loved one in a car crash should contact an attorney to discuss a legal filing for damages as soon as possible.
Source: zendrive.com, “Largest Distracted Driving Behavior Study,” Noah Budnick, April 17, 2017
