The FINANCIAL — Driver distraction is a factor in many of the accidents that occur on American roadways every day; in fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited it as a contributing factor in 11% of fatal auto accidents and 17% of "injury crashes" in 2011. But the state of American road safety may be showing some improvement, as instances of drivers engaging in key distractions behind the wheel appear to be declining, according to Harris Interactive Inc.
The percentage of auto consumers reporting one or more distracted driving experiences in the average month (four-week period) declined slightly, from 84% in 2012 to 82% in 2013. Furthermore, many technology-related driver distractions are showing decreases as well, with the percentage of auto consumers making a phone call (53% in 2012, 47% in 2013), receiving a phone call (59% in 2012, 53% in 2013), and reading a text message (25% in 2012, 23% in 2012) while driving in an average month all show significant drops, according to the report.
Cell phone use and texting are two of the most common driving distractions, and have been the focus of many new laws and educational campaigns at the state and local levels. Significant declines are seen for making (5.4 in 2012, 4.5 in 2013) and receiving (5.5 in 2012, 4.6 in 2013) phone calls, as well as reading emails (1.9 in 2012, 1.4 in 2013). The total number, on average, of distracted driving acts in a four week period declined from 36.5 in 2012 to 33.8 in 2013, according to Harris Interactive Inc.
The study specifically reveals reduced emailing and texting while driving by younger auto consumers (ages 18-34), who show significant drops in the average number of text messages sent per 4 week period (3.7 in 2012, 2.9 in 2013), reading text messages (7.4 in 2012, 5.2 in 2013), sending emails (1.9 in 2012, 1.2 in2013) and reading emails (3.3 in 2012, 1.7 in 2013).
"While both the NHTSA report and the AutoTECHCAST study show declines in some distracted driving activities, there remains a long road ahead in the race to get distracted driving under control. However, it seems that the message is starting to get through to consumers, as fewer are reporting engaging in distracted driving activities," said Mike Chadsey, Vice President, Automotive Solutions Consultant, Harris Interactive.
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