I've long-complained about the excessive number of drivers in my area (Virginia/D.C. suburbs) driving with their heads and eyes screwing around with cell-phones and texting instead of having them on the road where they belong (I'd probably see even more of them if I didn't have to keep my own eyes on the road LOL) But, seriously, it is a huge (and growing) problem. Some people think that they are fooling those around them (and the cops) by laying the phones in their laps, out of sight, but their heads looking down (or up/down repeatedly) clearly give them away. Although it's difficult, even with a study like this, to come up with hard numbers, as many of those surveyed probably aren't honest about their driving/cell-phone use (the actual, true numbers are probably a lot higher), the study at least give us something to go on....and, sure, enough (not surprisingly). Virginia ranks #1 out of all the 50 states..

I attribute it, at least partly, to the incredible pace of life around here, in the D.C. area, where few people have any patience or are willing to inconvenience or deny themselves a thing for even a split-second. They've got to do whatever they want, right now, this second, even if it means not paying attention to the road (fortunately, I don't think, act, or drive like that...IMO it's simply not worth it). The vast affluence of this area, and its huge population, means that everybody is trying to use the same roads at the same time, trying to get where they are going as quickly as possible, spending a lot of time in traffic, and conducting their business on the phones behind the wheel.

Now, I agree that emergencies and critical needs sometimes come up, and there can be valid reasons why some people may have to make (or take) a call while behind the wheel....child sick at school, family-member injured, house damaged by a storm, etc..... But it is also clear that many people simply use their car as a mobile texting-environment for casual business or communication, regardless of the actual need, or if it is a real emergency or not.

https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing...t-says/156291/

Quote:

Distracted driving increased in each state, but Virginia was the “most distracted” on the list. Residents there spend an average of 9.45 percent of their time behind the wheel on their phones.

An analysis of driver behavior data found that drivers are growing more distracted by their devices.

• MOBILE

Drivers are 10 percent more distracted now than last year, a problem driven largely by smartphones, according to new research from Zendrive, a company that collects and analyzes data on driver behaviors.

“Out from under the shadows, phone addicts have positioned themselves as public enemy number one, replacing drunk drivers as the ultimate threat on the road," says the 2019 distracted driving study, released this week.

The study analyzed driving data from 1.8 million anonymized drivers over 92 days, for a total of 4.5 billion miles. All data comes from smartphone sensors, which detect phone usage “when the driver handles the phone for a certain period of time for various purposes such as talking, texting, or navigating.” Researchers also spoke to 500 drivers to obtain details on how they use phones while driving, including which apps were most commonly tapped by people behind the wheel.

The results found that “phone addicts”—broadly defined as people who are unable or unwilling to put away their phones while driving—pick up their phones four times more than the average driver, use their phone six times longer and have their eyes off the road 28 percent of the time. And their numbers are increasing—the number of “hardcore phone addicts” identified by the company doubled from last year.

“Today, one in 12 drivers on the road is a phone addict,” the report says. “If these trends continue, as many as one in every five drivers could be in the phone addict category by 2022.”

Drivers distracted by their phones may already be more dangerous than drunk drivers. In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 10,497 deaths as a result of drunk driving, and 3,450 deaths from distracted drivers. But fatalities caused by driver phone use are more difficult to track and likely underreported, according to the report.

“Drivers failing to admit they were distracted prior to a crash and inconsistencies in police reports make it difficult to arrive at an accurate number,” it says. “But there are other reasons to believe mobile phones are deadlier than NHTSA suggests.”

For example, roughly 660,000 drivers use their cell phones while driving, according to NHTSA data. Last year, Zendrive data showed “that the problem was 100 times worse than reported by the government’s dataset. Over 69 million people use their phones at least once in awhile behind the wheel.”

And those people are driving day and night, the report notes, while drunk drivers are most active between midnight and 3 a.m. That means “that both in number and in timing, distracted drivers are a bigger danger than drunk drivers.”

Distracted driving increased in each state, but Virginia was the “most distracted” on the list. Residents there spend an average of 9.45 percent of their time behind the wheel on their phones. Montana (9.14 percent), New Hampshire (9), Georgia (8.69) and Mississippi (8.63) round out the top five. By contrast, the least distracted states are Pennsylvania (6.47 percent), New York (6.74), Oregon (6.83), South Carolina (6.89) and South Dakota (7.03).

The most commonly used apps while driving are music and phone apps, edging out social media and texting. State laws and municipal regulations that ban the use of handheld devices entirely while driving could help the problem, the report concludes.

“While 47 states (including the District of Columbia) ban text messaging, talking on a handheld phone while driving is only banned in 16 states nationwide,” it says. “Although texting laws are a huge step forward, immediate and aggressive action needs to be taken against handheld phone use. We believe enforcing handheld bans can make a positive impact on states across the board next year.”

 

This is why phone OS integration into cars is essential (think CarPlay, Android Auto, future tech). You can't stop us from using a phone, so give us a safer alternative to use it.

 

This country needs mandatory drivers re-education on federal level, and much stricter fines.

 

We may disagree on the G70/3-series rankings, but I certainly agree with you here. We also need much stricter enforcement. Far too many scofflaws, every day, get away with blatant disregard of traffic laws and simple common sense. There simply aren't enough cops to do the job, in areas like mine (and yours), with umpteen million drivers per square mile (I'm being facetious, of course)....although, in NYC, where you live, a lot of people simply depend on public transportation, cabs, or Uber/Lyft drivers instead of the endless sea of privately-owned vehicles here. We also have public transportation and a subway, but not anywhere near the extent of that in NYC.

As for Federal training, yes, maybe to some extent, but traffic laws and speed-limits also vary from state to state....Federal training would be redundant in some cases. So is what is legally considered reckless driving....in Virginia, for example, more than 20 MPH over a posted limit will get you a reckless driving charge...which is a very serious offense. Virginia, of course, also outlaws the actual use of radar detectors in the state (the State Troopers have detector-detectors in their cruisers, and can legally impound units if caught). That isn't the case in most other places. Window-tint laws, front/rear license plates, license fees, safety-inspection/emissions requirements, property-taxes on cars (if applicable), and a number of other issues also vary state to state.

 

if Virginia is #1, the other 49 states are tied for #2. It is so annoying. I am following a car and they are crossing the center and shoulder lines, going 10 mph under the speed limit and sit at a light that just turned green and when I pass them 90% are staring at their phone. In my state texting while driving is illegal but reading and sending emails are not, surfing the internet is not and reading a book on the Nook app is not.

 

I would make it a moving violation that adds points and increases your insurance. That will get the attention of the people. Also, if someone is a repeat violator, then the registry can take your license away for 3, 6 months or whatever. There is no real deterrent today and we need one.

 

Oh, definitely.

49 other wrongs don't make a right. As I said above, Virginia probably ranks #1 only because of the unique culture of the Northern Virginia Washington D.C. suburbs, its vast suburban sprawl, affluence, the incredible traffic level, and the always-rushed way that people live their lives and drive here. But Cell-Phone-Itis affects many other places as well.

Notice how many of them have their heads down, staring at their laps. They think that, by hiding the phone below door-sill height, or in their laps, that no one (especially cops) will notice.

 

re: bolded - not defending what others do, but respectfully you're retired, no kids, so you don't have the hectic 'need to communicate' constantly, that many others feel, with family, co-workers, customers, etc.

because it's the base of the vast federal government and the vast number of firms and organizations that feed off it... that trillion abd more in annual debt increases comes largely from dc.

i just watched jerry seinfeld's comedians in cars getting coffee with dave chappelle and they went back to dave's high school in DC which just had a $170 MILLION dollar 'renovation' including a state of the art 800 seat theater that would rival carnegie hall.

easy to do when you're spending OPM (other people's money). reminds me of the $500 MILLION high school they built in Los Angeles a few years ago.

but i digress.

the only way we're going to stop people using phones while driving is technology whereby the phone simply doesn't work while driving or only works through apple carplay / android auto.

 

Isn't this the truth. Any area regardless of wealth or affluence contributes to distracted driving. Anyone with a phone, which is just about everyone these days can potentially drive distracted it's hard to pigeon hole any one demographic.

 

Where I live, distracted driving is a moving violation that adds 5 demerits (points) to your driver's license premium. On top of that, the ticket/fine is $670+ CAD, and you get an automatic 3-day suspension. To compare, speeding up to 49 km/h over the posted limit adds 2 demerits and results in a ticket/fine of up to $700 CAD.

Even with all of that, I regularly see at least 2-3 drivers on my commute glancing down at their laps.

AA/ACP do help, but only when the display is high enough on the dash to allow you to at least keep one eye on the road.

 

Yes and no. The pace of life (and the impatience of many people) is exceptional around here. You won't find that everywhere, even in other huge or affluent metropolitan areas.

 

Seems to me that a distracted driver is just as big of a problem in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Houston, DFW etc. etc.

 

Absolutely. I thought I made that clear in earlier posts. Yes, there are legitimate emergencies and/or other reasons to make calls. But, as I also made clear, there are a lot of impatient people in this area who think that, responsibilities or not, the world revolves around them, and whatever they want (or feel like doing) takes priority at the moment.



Yes, much of this region's affluence does come from the government, contractors, high-tech firms, and the military (Pentagon). No arguments there....although I wouldn't necessarily use the term "feed off of it". Most of the people in this area (except for the street-panhandlers) do work legitimate jobs for their money and benefits...it's not just handed to them.

I agree with Hoovey to some extent...I don't think you can possibly stop all of it (or even the vast majority)...there are just too many scofflaws, not enough police in general, nor enough police that actually make it an enforcement-priority. And, as for motion-activated phone-blockage, that might work for vehicle-installed units at the factory, but not for the millions of separate or aftermarket hand-held phones. They can't tell if you are moving or standing still.

 

My iPhone can automatically block every and all communications once it senses I am driving. The technology does exist. It was one of the reasons I made sure to get the iPhone 8

 

Agreed, but not everyone owns an iPhone8. And, I believe, there is an "airplane" mode on a lot of phones that does allow use while moving.