Deaths from motor-vehicle crashes decreased slightly last year, but distraction-related fatalities were up 10 percent, federal analysts said. 2019 motor-vehicle crashes resulted in a 2 percent decrease in fatalities from 2018, according to final figures released in late December 2020 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of deaths linked to driver distraction was 3,142 nationwide, or almost 9 percent of all fatalities in 2019. This represents a 10 percent increase over the year 2018, or 284 more fatalities, the NHTSA reported. The distraction figure was the … [Read more...]
‘Considerable decrease’ in Calif. distracted driving
February 8, 2018 by 1 Comment
The annual observational study of California drivers found almost 8 percent were using electronic communications devices while behind the wheel during 2017. That's down from almost 13 percent in 2016, the state Office of Traffic Safety reported. Overall, researchers cited a "considerable decrease" in distracted driving in California between 2016 and 2017. Officials and researchers credited the improvement to the state's recent rewrite of its electronic distracted driving law and the effect of years of public safety campaigns. A change in survey methodology also may have had an … [Read more...]
U.S. distracted driving fatalities slip 2.2%
October 9, 2017 by 1 Comment
The number of distracted driving deaths slipped in 2016, bucking the trend in a year that saw overall fatalities rise 5.6 percent, federal officials report. The overall number of deaths linked to distracted driving was 3,450, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That compares with 3,526 in 2015. The decrease was 2.2 percent for "distraction-affected crashes," the DOT said. Deaths related to other reckless behaviors -- including speeding, alcohol impairment and not wearing seat belts -- continued to increase, the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said … [Read more...]
California: 13% of drivers on phone
June 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment
About 13 percent of California drivers are busy using cell phones while behind the wheel -- up from almost 10 percent in 2015 -- a state study suggests. Almost 8 percent of the state motorists were deemed to be driving distracted due to electronic device use, up from 5.4 percent. The state Office of Traffic Safety called the results of its sixth annual observational study "discouraging, but not totally unexpected." "Typing" and "posting" by drivers were up almost a third in the 2016 study, although "nearly all types of usage were up." The report -- "Observational Survey of Cell … [Read more...]
AAA: Driver use of cell phones widespread
February 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
About 70 percent of U.S. drivers confess to recently using a cell phone while behind the wheel, a new survey suggests. About 1 in 3 of drivers say they use the cell phones "fairly often or regularly," according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The group cited a "culture of indifference" toward unsafe driving behaviors. Just over 42 percent of the drivers self-reported reading a text or email while driving within the past 30 days. Nearly 1 in 3 admitted to typing or sending a text or email, the AAA report says. An overwhelming number of the drivers said, nonetheless, that … [Read more...]
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