Report: GHSA distracted driving findings says motorists on phone 7% of the time

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

The Governor's Highway Safety Association has just completed a comprehensive research project on distracted driving with a grant from State Farm. The report analyzes everything from how often drivers are distracted to what draws their attention away from the road and what states can do to help curtail irresponsible behavior among motorists in the future. As it turns out, drivers are distracted as much as half of the time they're behind the wheel by anything from passengers to eating, changing the radio station and fielding a phone call. Additionally, a 100-car study revealed that in 80 percent of crashes, the driver was found to be looking away from the road at the time of the incident.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study says that the worst of all distractions is the cell phones. The study found that drivers are about four times as likely to crash while using a handheld as those who refrain from talking while driving.

The Governor's Highway Safety Association study recommends that states use rumble strips both on the sides of roadways and in the center to help drivers become more aware of their surroundings. According to the study, the moment, there's no evidence that laws banning cell phone use while driving have had any impact on driver behavior. You can check out the full study by heading to the GHSA's website. Click past the jump for the press release on the report.

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GHSA distracted driving findings says motorists on phone 7% of the time originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/11/ghsa-distracted-driving-findings-says-motorists-on-phone-7-of-t/

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