Most of us are using our phones while driving
Even though we all know we shouldn't.
Between the hefty fines, disturbing PSAs and social shunning that comes from using your phone while driving, it turns nearly everyone is still texting, tweeting and generally fiddling with their phones while behind the wheel. According to Zendrive's extensive three month study of three million US drivers, we're use our phones at least once during 88 percent of our trips.
Yeah, that's not good.
The study analyzed 570 million trips over 5.6 billion miles and determined that on average, we used our phones instead of paying attention to the road for 3.5 minutes every hour. The state with the most distracted drivers was Vermont and the least distracted was Oregon. Both have hand-held phone bans. The most distracted city was Los Angeles while California as a whole was one of the least distracted states.
With motor vehicle deaths up six percent in 2016 from 2015, and 14 percent from 2014 to 2016, this study is a stark reminder that while automobiles are getting safer, drivers are actually getting worse behind the wheel. Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds increases the possibility of a crash 24 times. It takes an average of five seconds to text during which a car traveling at 55 miles per hour can cover an entire football field. So maybe put your phone away next time you're driving.
