(Newswire.net — March 8, 2020) — Distractions have always been a problem while driving. A vehicle traveling at 60 mph is moving at 88 feet per second. If you glance down at your phone for just half a second, your car will travel a full 44 feet, or 3-4 car lengths, before you can react to what’s happening around you. And if you’re following any closer than 3-4 car lengths, there’s literally no time to react to a suddenly stopping vehicle.
Of course, distractions come in many forms, and can impact your driving in many ways; this is just one example. If you’re found to be distracted leading up to the accident, you could easily be held personally liable for the collision.
Many vehicular problems and roadway dangers have subsided over time. Airbags, seatbelts, better-designed vehicles, better-designed traffic signals, and a host of other technological developments have made the roads safer. But in stark contrast, the distracted driving problem has grown exponentially worse in the past decade.
Why is this the case, and why is it continuing to grow?
Smartphones
The most obvious culprit is the emergence of mobile and handheld technologies, which can be used (irresponsibly) while driving. Previously, the biggest source of distraction was changing the radio station or adjusting the volume of your sound system, or possibly switching out a CD. Today, people have the capacity to write out messages to their friends, read emails, browse the web, and even watch full movies on a palm-sized screen.
Add to that the fact that almost everyone driving has access to a smartphone, and you have a recipe for disaster. According to one survey, 47 percent of people admit to using their digital devices while driving on a regular basis—this, despite 85 percent of the same population identifying distracted driving as a “very important problem.”
Some of the worst offenders in this group can be considered “phone addicts,” or heavy users who can’t bear to go more than a few minutes without checking their devices. These drivers spend 10 percent or more of their time while driving looking at a smartphone, which is egregious. And if you think these drivers are rare, think again. The segment is actively growing, doubling from representing 4.6 percent of the population in 2017 to 8 percent of the population in 2018.
Overconfidence: Complicating the Problem
Complicating the smartphone problem is the overconfidence effect, a kind of psychological bias in which a person is highly likely to overestimate their own abilities compared to the average, even when presented with the data.
Here’s how it plays out. We know that distracted driving is a terrible problem. We know that even a second or two of looking at a smartphone while on the road will measurably increase your risk of getting involved in an accident. These are facts, and most of us accept them.
The problem is, too many of us hear these facts and think, even if it’s on a subconscious level, that we’re above the statistics. Sure, looking at a phone is distracting for most people, but me, I’m great at multitasking—I only take my eyes off the road for a microsecond.
People mistakenly assume these statistics don’t apply to them, or that they’re somehow able to operate a vehicle successfully in spite of their pressing distractions. This causes distracted driving to spread, even when people can affirmatively recognize it as a problem.
Lackluster Legislation (and Controls)
Laws are notoriously slow to keep up with technological changes. Accordingly, not all areas have distracted driving laws. Only 21 states in the U.S. currently prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. Currently, 48 states prohibit texting while driving, but these numbers have been incredibly slow to grow; the first state to ban texting while driving was Washington, and it didn’t pass the ban until 2007.
Enforcement is understandably difficult, since it can be hard to tell when other drivers are distracted by technology without becoming distracted yourself. However, enforcement remains light and penalties remain lax in many areas, allowing the epidemic to grow.
It doesn’t help that most companies have made it easier for people to get distracted, with push notifications and a total lack of controls. There are some exceptions to this, such as specific mobile games that have enforced a speed limit that shuts the game down when you’re traveling above a reasonable speed, but these aren’t the norm.
Distracted driving remains a major problem, and a leading cause of death on American roadways. And studying current trends, it seems to only be getting worse. Better laws and more consistent enforcement are a good start to improvement, but it may not be enough to eradicate the issue when so many drivers are ruthlessly overconfident in their ability to multitask.