The smartphone is sitting in the passenger’s seat and there is a new Facebook update. Their hand immediately reaches for the mobile device as they wait for the red light to turn green and attempt to read it clandestinely but suddenly they’re blocking traffic as the motorists in front of them drive ahead.
Texting while driving is a pretty common scenario in the United States and other developed parts of the world. Although the general public has been thoroughly warned through intense ad campaigns and graphic public service announcements, motorists still prefer to multitask behind the wheel.
A new survey has shed some light on this distracted driving practice, and discovered that most do it even though they understand how dangerous it can be. The purpose of the study was to bring awareness to this growing issue.
According to the poll released by AT&T, 98 percent of cellphone owners who text consistently said they understood the dangers of texting and driving, but about three-quarters of them admitted to doing it, despite there being laws in several states and counties across the country.
Moreover, two-thirds conceded to reading text messages while sitting at a red light or stop sign, and more than one-quarter reported sending text messages as they drove. Also, more than a quarter said they can do several things at once while driving.
The study discovered that more than one-quarter (28 percent) are concerned they would be missing something important if they don’t monitor their phones immediately. Another quarter say their driving performance is not affected by texting, while the same number believe others expect them to answer texts “right away.” Finally, 14 percent conceded to feeling “anxious” if they refrain from responding to a text at that moment, while 17 percent report having “a sense of satisfaction” when they read or respond to a text message.
The AT&T poll comes as the wireless carrier expanded the availability of a free app called DriveMode that allows the smartphone to silence message alerts and turns on automatically when the vehicle moves more than 15 miles per hour.
As of Nov. 2014, 44 states as well as D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have some sort of text messaging prohibition or distracted driving law for all drivers. The six other states maintain ban on text messaging by novice drivers or restrict school bus drivers from texting.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), distracted driving was the cause of more than 3,000 deaths in 2012, while another 421,000 were injured in a motor vehicle accident involving distracted driving. It also found that American drivers are likelier to text and drive than their European counterparts.
The AT&T study was conducted with cellphone owners between the ages of 18 and 65 who drive almost everyday and text at least once a day. It contains a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
In the end, law enforcement officials say when that phone rings just ignore it until you’re parked somewhere.
