Distracted Driving from Food, Smartphones & More

by

A survey from Smith’s Lawyers in Brisbane, Austraila found men are much more likely to be distracted by their phone, try and drive with their knees or watch videos on the go. The biggest difference came from men checking out attractive pedestrians such as runners as they drive.

Compared to women, men are:

  • 22% more likely to use smartphone while driving (not hands free)
  • 260% more likely to check out pedestrians while driving
  • 74% more likely to drive with knees (suggesting the hands are getting used for other distractions)
  • 70% more likely to watch videos while driving

Majority Foodies

Around 60% of drivers are consuming food and drinks such as drive-thru fast food, sodas and hot coffee. This doesn’t get much attention but a number of studies have found it can cause some big risks including;

  • Lytx study in 2014 found drivers are 3.6 more times likely to crash while eating or drinking
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates odds of crashing go up 80 percent and that 65 percent of close calls on the road are due to food or drink (non-alcohol) related distractions.

Around half (48.3%) of new drivers admit to using their phone (non hand-free) while driving which is the highest for any age group. This suggests that FOMO is a stronger power than thinking about safety for many young drivers. The survey found their wasn’t a big drop in the percentage of drivers using their phone behind the wheel until the 45 plus age group.

‘Netflix and Chill’ becomes ‘Netflix and Drive’ – A even scarier part of the mobile use among male drivers under 25 is that nearly a fifth (17.4%) admit to watching videos via their phone while driving.

A few regional findings

Using a phone while driving

  • Most: West USA including California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona & Colorado = 41.2%
  • Least: Northeast USA including New York, Massachusetts = 33.4%

Driving with knees

  • Most: Midwest USA including Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio & Iowa = 21.5%
  • Least: West USA including California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona & Colorado = 13.4%