Recent surveys of Americans have revealed some interesting facts concerning their driving habits. Almost half of Americans acknowledge that talking and texting on the phone are probably the most dangerous distraction, but 81% still make calls from behind the wheel. Three out of the four times that drivers slam on their brakes is the result of daydreaming, fiddling with the radio, or using phones. According to John Ulczycki, executive director of the Transportation Safety Group, nearly 80% of crashes are caused by distracted drivers. Surprisingly, it was older drivers who were most likely to multi-task while driving, although nearly 40% of those aged 18-30 admitted that they send text messages while driving. We understand the need to be connected with others in this day-and-age, but shouldn’t the safety of yourself and others be paramount?

Many of the survey respondents believed that stricter legislation and technology could help keep drivers from dialing while driving. In spite of the fact that over 4/5 of respondents admitted to using the phone while driving, over 40% of drivers supported technology to disable phones in cars and stricter laws against cellphone use. We assume that many of these people just plan to circumvent or break the law anyways.

What’s scary is that using a Bluetooth or hands-free headset doesn’t necessarily make phone use safer:

Using a hands-free or Bluetooth device doesn’t necessarily make chatting any safer. “It’s not physically handling the phone that’s most dangerous. It’s the fact that your brain is engaged in your conversation,” Lusby-Treber says. “If you have to talk, keep it short and don’t talk about anything emotional.”

If not using your hands but using the phone is still relatively risky, think about how risky texting while driving is! You have to use your hands and look at a small screen to do it. People need to realize that cars, although safer than in the past, aren’t perfect. If you are speeding down the freeway and get into an accident, you will be injured or killed, making paying attention while driving all the more important. It scares us that it’s the youngest who are most likely to do the riskiest things will driving. Drive safe!

[USA Today]

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