While texting while driving is risky as it is, those who use their cell phones behind the wheel are more likely to engage in other risky behaviors.
This includes speeding, driving drowsy, driving without a seatbelt and sending texts or emails, according to a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
More than two-thirds (69 percent) of licensed drivers also reported talking on a cell phone while driving within the last month, despite the fact that nearly nine-in-ten respondents (89 percent) believe other drivers using cell phones are a threat to their personal safety.
“Ninety percent of respondents believe that distracted driving is a somewhat or much bigger problem today than it was three years ago, yet they themselves continue to engage in the same activities,” Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said in a statement. “More work clearly is needed to educate motorists on the risks associated with using a cell phone while driving, especially given that most Americans believe this problem is becoming worse.”
Motorists who fairly often or regularly used their cell phones over the last month also reported that they engaged in additional risky behaviors. The research shows:
• 65 percent also reported speeding
• 44 percent also reported driving while drowsy
• 53 percent also reported sending a text or email
• 29 percent also drove without a seatbelt
Conversely, drivers that reported never using a cell phone were much less likely to report additional risky behaviors:
• 31 percent reported speeding
• 14 percent reported driving drowsy
• 3 percent reported sending a text or email
• 16 percent drove without a seatbelt
Despite the near-universal disapproval of texting and emailing while driving (95 percent), more than one-in-four licensed drivers (27 percent) reported sending a text or email at least once in the past 30 days, and more than one-third (35 percent) said they read a text or email while driving.
Young drivers age 16-24 were even more likely with more than half (61 percent) reporting having read a text or email while driving in the past month, while more than one-in-four (26 percent) reported checking or updating social media while driving.
“What concerns AAA is this pattern of risky behavior that even goes beyond cell phone use,” said Kathleen Bower, AAA vice president of public affairs. “These same cell phone-using drivers clearly understand the risk of distraction, yet are still likely to engage in a wide range of dangerous driving activities.”
Driver use of cell phones impairs reaction times and roughly quadruples crash risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 3,000 people are killed and nearly half a million are injured each year in crashes involving distraction. This is likely an underestimate given the challenges associated with determining the role of distraction in crashes.
