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Car Accident Lawyer
Volvo, which has a goal of eliminating serious injuries and deaths in its vehicles by 2020, recently carried out a study on distracted driving in conjunction with the Harris Poll. Although people assume the younger generation is responsible for these types of accidents, the study found it is a problem across multiple age groups, reports AutoWeek.
According to the study results, about half of Gen Z (those born between the middle of the 1990s to the middle of the 2000s) say it’s harder to focus on one task than it was five years ago. Fifty-one percent of the same group find it more difficult to get things done because they are so easily distracted. Overall, just over half of all respondents said they are anxious when they have too many things to do, a figure that rises to 77 percent for those in the Gen Z group.
All the drivers polled labeled distracted driving as the biggest threat on the road today, and it came in well above drivers who are on drugs or drinking. Driving aggressively and speeding ranked low on the threat list, with 8 and 3 percent of respondents, respectively, seeing those factors as the top driving threat.
An astounding 90 percent of the drivers surveyed agreed there are more distractions while driving today than drivers faced just five years ago. Using a phone was labeled as the top distraction behind the wheel at 43 percent, followed by kids at 11 percent, other passengers at 9 percent, changing the GPS at 8 percent, and adjusting the radio at 5 percent.
Those in the Gen X and Millennial generations admitted they used their phones while driving by the largest percentage at 81 percent, while younger boomers and Gen Z came in at just over 70 percent. Older boomers were also surprisingly high at 64 percent, and even 59 percent of the Silent Generation admitted to using their phones at the rate of 59 percent.
An amusing and not quite unexpected result from the study was that most people think other drivers are worse than they are. Participants think that over 90 percent of people text on their phones while driving, but only around 60 percent admit to doing it. In a similar vein, a little over 20 percent of the people polled admitted to posting on social media while behind the wheel; however, they also believed 90 percent of drivers actually do it.
Volvo, like other manufacturers, does have a stake in distracted driving. Many automakers are now adding features such as head-up displays, steering wheel controls and voice commands to help cut down on road distractions. Despite these new safety advances, distracted driving will likely remain a problem as mobile devices become more integrated into daily life.
A distracted driver can cause a serious accident leading to injury or even death. If you have been harmed by a distracted driver, speak to an auto accident lawyer Denver, CO relies on about your case and your rights as soon as you can.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at Richard J. Banta, P.C. for their insight into distracted driving and auto accident claims.
