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Cellphone Use: The Most Dangerous Type of Distracted Driving

Many things can distract drivers, from eating to conversing with a passenger. The rise of universal smartphone ownership began in the early 2010s. Out of everything humanity has created, nothing distracts motorists more than these attention thieves. 98% of all Americans have a cellphone, and 91% of these are smartphones.

Driving and using a cellphone isn’t multitasking; it’s reckless

The human brain cannot process two things at once. Instead, it switches from one task to another. Try reading a book and using a roundabout. It cannot be done. So, it is unsurprising that texting and driving is also impossible.
Both of these activities are cognitively demanding. Taking your eyes off the road for five seconds at 55 MPH means you drive the whole length of a football field without seeing what is going on.

Cellphones and crashes

In 2015, about 7% of drivers were observed using a cell phone at any given moment. In a survey of 3,400 adult drivers, the following data was gathered regarding distracting behaviors:

Cellphone-related crashes are underreported

We know cellphone usage is a problem—we just don’t know how severe it is. That is because, after an accident, there is no way to determine if a driver was distracted by a cell phone. Drivers can tell the police they had been texting and driving at the time of the accident, but they are hesitant to do so because they know it’s wrong—96% of drivers think texting and driving is dangerous, but 44% have admitted to doing it.

26 States

lack fields to capture texting

32 States

lack fields to record hands-free cell phone use

36 States

do not have fields specifically for talking on cell phones

32 States

do not have fields to report about electronic devices used by non-motorists

Teenager sitting in his parked car while using his smartphone

Young adults and teen drivers: The most likely to text and drive

  • ● 39% of high school students who drove over a month-long period texted or emailed while driving at least once
  • ● Texting and driving rates do not correlate with student academic achievement; all students text and drive at roughlythe same rates
  • ● Among drivers aged 15 to 20 involved in a fatal crash, 9% were distracted at the time of the crash—the highest out of any age group
  • ● Older teens are more likely to use their cellphones while driving than younger teens

Source: Source: Distracted Driving Risk Factors

The laws against texting and driving

  • Primary enforcement laws that ban hand-held electronic personal device use for all drivers
  • Primary enforcement laws that ban hand-held electronic personal device use for all drivers (including primary enforcement texting bans for all drivers)
  • Primary enforcement texting bans for all drivers:
  • Secondary enforcement texting bans for all drivers
  • No bans on cellphone use

Individual-level solutions

As individuals, we can make decisions that prevent distracted driving and lessen the likelihood of accidents.

Here are some actionable steps you can take, depending on your role: