Distracted Drivers Causing More Accidents

April 2006

Although the rise in new technology makes life easier, driving while talking on a cell phone or checking e-mail could come with a cost— your life.

A recent government study found that eight out of ten accidents or near-collisions were a result of lack of attention by the drivers. Researchers watched thousands of hours of video and data from sensor monitors of more than 200 drivers, and actually witnessed the driver distractions in action. What they saw was people talking on the phone, checking stocks, scores from games, reading e-mails, and playing with MP3 players while driving 40 to 70 miles per hour, sometimes even faster, moments before an accident.

This report is the first to link crash risks with drivers’ actions which attributed to 25% of crashes, according to police reports. These distractions may be a factor in the rise of highway deaths for the first time in decades. In 2005, 43,200 people died on the road, compared with 42,636 in 2004.

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