 "Phone addiction: Here's how many US drivers still text behind the wheel")
MarchSafety regulators still have no idea just how deadly the combination of mobile phones and cars can be, but mounting evidence paints a grim picture.
The latest disconcerting data come from a massive study by Zendrive, a San Francisco-based startup that tracks phone use for automobile insurers and ride-hailing fleets. Of the 2.3 million drivers it monitored over 5.6 billion miles, some 12 per cent were characterised as mobile-phone addicts—calling, texting or scrolling through apps three times more than the average driver.
“Without decisive action and a lot of education, it will be difficult to see the trend reverse,” said Zendrive co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Matus. “We’re just starting and I feel like it’s still an uphill battle.”
What’s more, laws banning handheld phone use seemed to have little effect. In the 15 states that have such measures in place, the share of phone addicts only dropped by two points, from 12 per cent of drivers to 10 per cent. “That’s an area of great concern to me,” Matus said. “It means either the rules are not known, the enforcement is not effective or people are so addicted to their phones they’re willing to take the risk.”
If recent fatalities are any measure, all three of those conditions seem to be likely. After decades of gradual declines, US road deaths surged by 14.4 per cent between 2014 and 2016. The largest fatality spikes were among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, all of whom are relatively easy to miss from behind the wheel for a driver glancing at a text message.
It’s anyone’s guess how many of those deaths are tied to drivers making a quick call or finishing an email. Most police accident reports still don’t include a box to record mobile-phone distraction as a cause of a crash or collision.
The latest disconcerting data come from a massive study by Zendrive, a San Francisco-based startup that tracks phone use for automobile insurers and ride-hailing fleets. Of the 2.3 million drivers it monitored over 5.6 billion miles, some 12 per cent were characterised as mobile-phone addicts—calling, texting or scrolling through apps three times more than the average driver.
“Without decisive action and a lot of education, it will be difficult to see the trend reverse,” said Zendrive co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Matus. “We’re just starting and I feel like it’s still an uphill battle.”
What’s more, laws banning handheld phone use seemed to have little effect. In the 15 states that have such measures in place, the share of phone addicts only dropped by two points, from 12 per cent of drivers to 10 per cent. “That’s an area of great concern to me,” Matus said. “It means either the rules are not known, the enforcement is not effective or people are so addicted to their phones they’re willing to take the risk.”
If recent fatalities are any measure, all three of those conditions seem to be likely. After decades of gradual declines, US road deaths surged by 14.4 per cent between 2014 and 2016. The largest fatality spikes were among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, all of whom are relatively easy to miss from behind the wheel for a driver glancing at a text message.
It’s anyone’s guess how many of those deaths are tied to drivers making a quick call or finishing an email. Most police accident reports still don’t include a box to record mobile-phone distraction as a cause of a crash or collision.
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