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Are we ignoring a huge cause of distracted driving?

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Illinois

Believe it or not, using your phone isn’t the most dangerous activity to do while driving. Chatting with your passengers is.

It sounds weird, but according to federal data, more than half of distracted driving accidents were caused by conversations with passengers. Sometimes, it seems, we all just get way too lost in dialogue.

The next most likely distraction is your phone: texting, dialing numbers, Googling things, looking at your directions, changing a song, taking a selfie. All that only accounts for 12 percent of distracted driving accidents.

Focusing on other in-car objects — putting on chapstick, swatting a fly, wiping a smudge off your window — make up 11 percent of those accidents.

Actions of passengers other than talking — like stupid in-car dance moves or kids fighting in the back seat — cause another 7 percent, and everything else (eating, adjusting the radio, moving your seat, anything else) cause the remaining 23 percent.

* The chart…

* The federal study is here. The feds are not as definitive about it as the above story claims, however…

About 57 percent of these drivers were conversing with a passenger in the pre-crash phase. However, it may not reflect the cause of the distraction. In fact, it is difficult to determine how much conversation can contribute to driver inattention.

It goes without saying that the government outlawing conversation between a driver and a passenger would be a wee bit unpopular. Not sure what to do about that, even if the stats are true, except via a public information campaign.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:14 pm

Comments

I can see the new highway safety billboards:

“SHUT UP AND DRIVE.”

Comment by Politically Incorrect Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:18 pm
A third of deaths in Illinois are still drunks.Focus on that one. The other stuff is outlawing stupidity. Good luck but might increase revenue.

Comment by illinois manufacturer Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:19 pm
I also suspect that smoking and eating contributes to accidents. It drives me nuts when I see some person with a cigarette in one hand, a cell phone in the other up against their ear and making a turn.

BTW, does ANYONE know of someone stopped and ticketed for cell phone use while driving in Illinois? I see people doing it all the time, and I have yet to see someone pulled over for it.

Comment by Illinois Bob Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:21 pm
Illinois Bob,
I see cops with a phone in hand all the time. They’d have to hang up to issue a ticket.

Comment by Casual observer Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:28 pm
I think most parents would appreciate a law against fighting in the back seat: “Stop that fighting you little monsters, or I will just drop you off at jail.”

Comment by A Jack Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:34 pm
It’s hand held cell phones and eating that I see all the time.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:42 pm
Enforcement of right-of-way and lane usage violations would make more sense for a couple reasons. 1) These violations are directly related to crashes. 2) Enforcement of these violations would not only address direct causes of crashes, they would also catch the most blatant and harmful examples of the undesirable behaviors (talking eating, etc. )
There are already too many laws on the for the purpose of indirect behavioral control that we’ve lost sight of fundamentals.

Comment by Qui Tam Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:43 pm
The basis for these claims is at best dated. Both the IIHS study and the Wapo article are based on 2010 crash data. According to the industry statistics mobile device ownership has more than tripled since 2010 (62.6M to 207.1M devices). There is A LOT more device distracted driving going on today.

Comment by Slugger O'Toole Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:46 pm
“I see cops with a phone in hand all the time.”

I have seen them leaning over to use their computer while driving 80+ mph on I55.

Comment by Huh? Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:48 pm
Pretty soon most cars on the road will automatically sense that a driver has failed to brake/steer to avoid an accident and take proper corrective action. It’s coming sooner than you might think. If I had any, I would spend put my money and regulatory capital that stuff.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/autonomous-vehicles-shift-into-high-gear/

http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/wiki/index.php/Automated_Driving:_Legislative_and_Regulatory_Action

Comment by Lucien Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:49 pm
** A third of deaths in Illinois are still drunks.Focus on that one**

And when it happens, lets sue the car-maker and the booze company /s

Comment by DGD Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:53 pm
Lucien,

I agree that it’s coming soon, and that cars will start to take care of our worse angels for us. As far as regulatory impact, we will have a lot less revenue from speeding, DUI, red light, and other infractions when the driver is taken out of the equation, but an occasional *whoops!* (the late Bill’s favorite word)when the equipment malfunctions.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:57 pm
A lot of distracted driving probably doesn’t show up in police reports, but is reported as some uncategorized driver error; unless caught red handed, many people won’t admit to it. Slugger’s post about the freshness of the data is also applicable here; there’s more and more devices in the hands of drivers in 2016, especially with text and video, than in 2010.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:02 pm
Some problems just exist and trying to fix them is futile. This is one of those problems.

Comment by Saluki Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:04 pm
Accidents also happen very close to home not sure of exact statistics . People seem to concentrate less when getting closer to home. Just last week in Orland Park a young 17 year old boy was killed when a neighbor got distracted and ran him over while cutting his grass. The driver was two houses away from being home when it occurred . The investigation they say is still pending but health reasons they say have been ruled out. A simple distraction resulting in the death of a innocent teenager.

Comment by Orland Dave Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:16 pm
Not at all surprised. A lot of people don’t take driving a vehicle seriously. They act like they are sitting on there couch at home talking to friends. The same can be said for pedestrians. Many (mainly 20 somethngs)are oblivious to vehicles. Between the bad drivers and careless pedestrians I am surprised more people aren’t killed.

Comment by Groucho Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:24 pm
I work with a guy who was driving through a construction zone with multiple lane changes. a message came up on his dashboard that the driver was tired and should pull off and rest…true story

Comment by spidad60 Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:27 pm
Illinois Bob- I have received a ticket for talking on my cell phone while driving. Yes, I knew it was against the law and I shouldn’t have been doing it. Lots of people in Macomb have received these tickets, which typically are written by State Troopers trying to reach ticket quotas in town. Our local police and campus police are much more likely to give you a warning. I think it cost me about $85.

Comment by Macomb resident Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:47 pm
There was a study from one of the insurance groups a few years back, when states were first considering requiring handsfree devices.
Their study (which I believe was quoted in debate over our law in Illinois) said that handsfree devices were more likely to cause accidents than a phone to the ear. I believe the theory was that people were more conscious that they had a phone call and needed to be careful when it was to their ear, but handsfree devices made people feel more free to get deep in conversations, talk longer and get more distracted.

Comment by m Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 2:04 pm
I do recall someone that would drive, smoke a cigarette and put on eye liner on the way to work. And half the time they was holding a coffee cup too.

Comment by Fly-on-the-Wall Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 4:01 pm