Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s leading telematics service provider, has released its latest annual report on distracted driving and road safety, titled “The State of US Road Risk in 2024.” Based on analysis of over a billion car trips by millions of U.S. drivers, the report reveals a 4.5% decrease in distracted driving in 2023, the first drop since 2020.
Factors contributing to this decline include consent-driven usage-based insurance (UBI) programs, hands-free legislation, and increased media awareness about the hazards of distracted driving. CMT estimates this reduction prevented over 55,000 crashes, 31,000 injuries, 250 fatalities, and nearly $2.2 billion in economic losses in 2023.
However, despite the improvement, distracted driving remains alarmingly high in the U.S., with drivers 187% more distracted than their U.K. counterparts. In 2023, U.S. drivers spent an average of 2 minutes and 6 seconds on their phones per driving hour, still 17% higher than in 2020.
The report underscores the impact of distracted driving on crash frequency and severity, revealing that certain distractions, such as handheld phone calls, lead to crashes at speeds 31% higher, increasing crash severity. Additionally, data shows that distracted drivers were 62% more likely to crash in 2023, with 34% of crashes preceded by driver distraction.
Furthermore, the report discusses the effectiveness of UBI programs in promoting safer driving, with enrollees being 65% safer, and the positive outcomes of hands-free laws, which reduced distracted driving by 7.1% and prevented 8,200 crashes and 37 fatalities in 2023.
Increased media coverage on distracted driving, evidenced by over 67,000 articles produced in 2023, has also contributed to raising awareness and reducing distractions among drivers. The report delves into various risk behavior trends, the states with the highest levels of distracted driving, peak times for distractions, and drivers’ app usage habits.
“While it’s great to see that distracted driving declined in 2023 after years of trending upward, every second that drivers use their phone behind the wheel puts all road users at risk,” said Matt Fiorentino, VP of Marketing for Cambridge Mobile Telematics. “From consent-based UBI programs, to hands-free laws, this decline shows that we have the tools to fight distracted driving. With the data from this report and CMT’s insights into reducing road risk, we have an opportunity to accelerate this progress even further.”
In addition to telematics data, the report includes insights from five CMT surveys covering topics such as popular driving apps, driver sentiment on road safety, and the adoption of Do Not Disturb While Driving.
Source: The Trucker
