Survey: we notice other distracted drivers, but not ourselves

SOME 80 PER CENT of Canadians say they witness distracted driving regularly, but just 38 per cent admit to driving distracted themselves, according to a new survey that shows a divide between people’s perceptions of drivers other than themselves.

Use of smartphones while driving tops the list of typical distractions, which includes eating while driving, other passengers and use of in-car devices.

The survey found 79 per cent of respondents regularly see other drivers using a smartphone behind the wheel, while only 38 per cent admit to having driven distracted at least once. A further 21 per cent admitted to using their phone while driving within the past year.

Smartphone-related distracted driving is more pronounced with younger drivers. Eleven per cent of drivers aged 16-24 admit to driving while using their smartphone on a regular basis, twice the national average of five per cent.

When asked what drivers use their smartphone for while driving, onethird point to GPS apps as the primary reason. Here too, however, younger drivers are more likely to reach for the phone, with 45 per cent of drivers aged 16-24 using GPS apps compared to only 22% of the 55-74 age group. Non-smartphone distractions include: the external environment (51%), focusing on passengers or children in the vehicle (35%), changing settings on the vehicle’s entertainment system (35%) and eating or drinking (31%).

The survey found that the biggest deterrent were consequences related to getting caught using a smartphone behind the wheel. Fifty-five per cent are most concerned about fines and the potential for higher insurance rates. While 37 percent of drivers stated that getting into a motorvehicle collision would make them more likely to stop driving distracted.

“Despite continued declines in fatalities due to road crashes in the past decade, deaths involving distracted driving have increased. Distraction was a factor in one in four fatalities in 2015,” said Robyn Robertson, president and CEO of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, in a release.