April was Distracted Driving Consciousness Month, and The Normal Insurance coverage and Mazda have teamed as much as unfold consciousness across the risks of distracted driving. Jennifer Morrison, Director of Automobile Security Technique at Mazda North American Operations, supplied key insights into how expertise can fight distracted driving. Discover ways to keep secure behind the wheel utilizing hands-free expertise and get the info on distracted driving with this information.
Key Takeaways
- Distracted driving is a severe security problem, with telephone use being probably the most frequent and harmful types of distraction.
- Consciousness campaigns and adjustments in driving conduct are resulting in actual enhancements, together with fewer accidents and extra knowledgeable drivers.
- Palms-free expertise and driver-assist options are serving to drivers keep linked whereas holding their give attention to the street.
What Is Distracted Driving?
The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as something that takes your consideration away from the street. That features adjusting the radio, making use of make-up, and snacking. Nevertheless, most distracted driving incidents contain telephone use. Texting, speaking, scrolling, and checking social media behind the wheel are all types of distracted driving. Texting is taken into account probably the most harmful types of distracted driving because it occupies our minds, palms, and imaginative and prescient.
Distracted Driving Statistics: The Toll of Driving Whereas Distracted
Distracted driving may be lethal. It places you, your passengers, different drivers, and even pedestrians at risk. In accordance with NHTSA knowledge from 2023, roughly 3,275 drivers misplaced their lives in crashes that concerned distracted driving. As well as, eight p.c of all deadly accidents in 2023 concerned distracted drivers, and over 32,000 folks have died in accidents involving distracted drivers from 2014 to 2023.
How Utilization-Based mostly Insurance coverage Reduces Distracted Driving
Some of the efficient new instruments within the battle towards distracted driving is Utilization-Based mostly Insurance coverage (UBI), which makes use of telematics to trace your driving conduct and reward secure habits. In accordance with Cambridge Cellular Telematics, the recognition of UBI is linked to a lower in distracted driving. UBI has elevated in recognition by 220% since 2020. Since UBI tracks driving conduct, it makes drivers extra conscious of their driving habits, each good and unhealthy. It additionally incentivizes secure driving, providing decrease premiums to drivers with higher habits, like avoiding telephone use whereas driving. When drivers know their habits influence their premiums, they have a tendency to make higher choices.
Lowering Distracted Driving
Because of consciousness efforts and UBI, distracted driving is changing into much less frequent. For instance, based on a research performed by Cambridge Cellular Telematics (CMT), distracted driving was diminished by 8.6% in 2024, the second consecutive yr of enchancment and the bottom display screen interplay ranges since 2020. CMT estimates the drop in distracted driving prevented over 100,000 crashes, 480 fatalities, and $4.2 billion in financial losses.
This lower in distracted driving may be attributed to key behavioral adjustments:
- Drivers interacted with their telephones for one minute and fifty-six seconds per driving hour in 2024—the bottom ranges since 2020.
- Cellphone dealing with time—the period of time drivers spend bodily holding their telephones—dropped to 11.3% in 2024, now beneath pre-pandemic ranges.
- Dashing declined by 21% in comparison with 2022.
NHTSA knowledge helps these findings. They reported a 4.4% decline in visitors fatalities in the course of the first 9 months of 2024. As well as, states like Michigan and Ohio have launched “hands-free legal guidelines” that prohibit the usage of handheld units whereas driving. In these states, telephone use is simply allowed through hands-free expertise. General, consciousness efforts have been profitable, with a 57% improve in public consciousness of distracted driving dangers.
Expertise and Automotive Security Options
Distracted driving can also be declining resulting from the usage of hands-free options in automobiles that permit drivers to hook up with their telephones whereas holding their palms on the wheel. Whereas many drivers wrestle to keep away from their telephones, particularly throughout lengthy journeys, these hands-free applied sciences permit customers to attach with their family members with out selecting up their system. Drivers can use navigational instruments and take heed to podcasts and music whereas holding their eyes on the street. Nevertheless, driving fully distraction-free remains to be the most secure choice.
Trendy automobiles include extra options designed to boost secure driving. Security options that may scale back distracted driving embody:
- Lane-keep help. Lane-keep help and lane departure warning emit a sound and apply steering help should you’ve unconsciously moved out of your designated lane.
- Blind-spot monitoring. An more and more common expertise, blind-spot monitoring provides an additional set of eyes to the realm over your shoulder that many drivers neglect to examine or have bother seeing. It sounds an alert if there’s a automobile approaching your blind spot.
- Adaptive cruise management. Cruise management permits you to set a delegated pace to take care of throughout open street cruising. It routinely slows your automobile when approaching one other automobile to create an acceptable quantity of following distance.
- Collision mitigation. Mazda’s collision mitigation applied sciences detect potential crashes and warn the driving force or routinely apply the brakes to stop accidents.
All Mazda automobiles come outfitted with superior security expertise. In accordance with Jennifer, “Once we noticed the rise in cellphone use grow to be the important thing supply of distraction within the early 2000s, preliminary efforts have been to remove cell telephones in automobiles fully. The initiative has since shifted to minimizing use by safer integrations. Mazda has applied applied sciences like Apple Automotive Play and Android Auto that scale back hands-on telephone use and Superior Driver Help Methods (ADAS) like Blind Spot Warning (BSW), Automated Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), and Rear Cross Site visitors Alert (RCTA), which act as important help if a driver does lose focus.”
Ideas for Staying Centered on the Highway
- Put your telephone away: Retailer your telephone within the glove compartment, heart console, or use a “Do Not Disturb” driving mode to keep away from the temptation to examine it.
- Set your GPS and playlist earlier than you drive: Enter your vacation spot and choose your leisure forward of time so that you’re not adjusting settings on the transfer.
- Keep organized: Preserve your necessities inside straightforward attain to keep away from rummaging by luggage or seats whereas driving.
- Take breaks on lengthy journeys: Pull over at relaxation stops to stretch, examine your messages, and refocus earlier than getting again on the street.
- Restrict in-car distractions: Keep away from consuming, grooming, or participating in intense conversations that might take your consideration off the street.
- Use hands-free options: Reap the benefits of your automobile’s hands-free calling, voice instructions, and driver-assist expertise that can assist you keep centered.
Expertise is continually evolving, however the easiest way to stop distracted driving is by holding your consideration on the street. Mirror by yourself driving habits—have you ever ever pushed whereas distracted? As well as, should you’re on the lookout for an reasonably priced insurance coverage coverage, get quoted for a Utilization-Based mostly Insurance coverage plan that rewards your focus.
