Distracted driving continues to increase in the U.S. -- despite new laws, widespread safety education and saturation media coverage -- several new reports suggest. "Most Americans believe this problem is becoming worse," said Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which surveyed almost 4,000 motorists for its Traffic Safety Culture Index. Researchers in California report that electronic distracted driving doubled in the state from 2011 to 2012, citing a "substantial and dramatic" increase in use of handheld electronics. Smartphone sales grew about 45 … [Read more...]
Uptick in U.S. distracted driving deaths
December 11, 2012 by 1 Comment
Highway deaths linked to distracted driving were up slightly in 2011, an increase that the federal government said reflected better reporting and increased awareness of the problem. The number of people killed in distraction-related crashes rose to 3,331 in 2011 from 3,267 in 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Dec. 10. About 387,000 people were injured in wrecks blamed on distracted driving, a 7 percent decline from the estimated 416,000 people hurt in those crashes in 2010. Overall, national highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011, the lowest level since 1949 … [Read more...]
OTS: Calif. cell phone deaths falling
March 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
California fatalities linked to handheld cell phone use fell by almost half following enactment of the state's ban on use of the wireless devices while driving, a new study indicates. In the two years following the July 2008 adoption of the distracted driving law, handheld cell phone driver deaths decreased 47 percent, the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at the University of California, Berkeley, found. Similar reductions occurred in the number of injuries, as well as deaths associated with cell phone use with hands-free accessories, SafeTREC said. Overall, … [Read more...]
Calif. safety enemy No. 1: cell phones
December 5, 2011 by 3 Comments
Cell phone use while driving has become the No. 1 safety problem on California roads and highways, a new survey of state motorists says. Close behind came texting while driving. Combined, cell phoning and text messaging drew almost 40 percent of the responses. Both problems individually outweighed last year's main concern, "speeding and aggressive driving," according to the second-annual survey by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Texting soared in mentions as the biggest danger, going from last year's 2 percent to 18 percent. When asked to name the most serious distraction for … [Read more...]
Despite the danger, we’re still talking
November 4, 2011 by 1 Comment
U.S. drivers recognize talking & texting as dangerous activities, but many continue to drive distracted anyway -- even in high-risk traffic situations. Nothing new there, but several recent surveys shed more light on the problem. Results of five recent surveys regarding cell phone and texting use are consistent with attitudinal studies conducted over the past 10 years. The latest numbers strongly suggest that widespread distracted driving educational efforts still have a lot of work left to do. A Roper poll of U.S. adults shows, in fact, that the higher the overall education level, the more … [Read more...]
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