Even When Not on a Phone, Cell Phone Users Are More Distracted When
Driving Is There a 'Distracted-Driver Personality' Type?
MERIDEN, Conn., July
1 /PRNewswire/ -- According to an analysis by Response Insurance of
their national driving survey, people who use cell phones when driving
are more likely to be distracted from the road even when they are not
talking on a phone. The results indicate there may be a "distracted-driver
personality" type behind the wheel.
The Response Insurance
National Driving Distractions Survey compared attentiveness of cell
phone users to non-users when not talking on a phone. When asked a series
of questions about different topics that might take their attention
from the road, people who use cell phones were significantly more likely
to be distracted when thinking about every-day issues and concerns than
drivers who do not use cell phones while driving.
When compared to
drivers who do not talk on cell phones, drivers who use cell phones
are 56% more likely to be distracted behind the wheel while thinking
about what to eat; 36% more likely to be distracted thinking about relationship
issues; 32% more likely to be distracted when thinking about their jobs;
27% more likely to be distracted when thinking about health concerns;
21% more likely to be distracted when thinking about family issues,
and 19% more likely to be distracted when thinking about money issues
or bills.
If, as the survey
indicates, certain people are more likely to be distracted behind the
wheel, recent attention to cell phone use may be missing the larger
problem of driver inattention.
"From the time
we issued our first survey, we said that cell phones were only one part
of a societal trend of multi-tasking while driving and a general lack
of attention to the road," said Mory Katz, Chairman of Response
Insurance. "Our analysis points to what could be a chronic inattentiveness
problem for a specific group of drivers. We hope this information sets
the stage for additional research and much more driver education in
this area."
Source: Response
Insurance
Response Insurance
is a direct-to-the customer auto insurance company that sponsored the
survey that launched the national debate on driving distractions and
cell phone use. That 1999 survey provided the first detailed and scientific
look at the distracting nature of various activities and their likelihood
of contributing to accidents.
About the Survey
Analysis:
This new analysis
is based on a statistically valid survey that included 1,046 interviews
conducted among a nationally representative sample of adults 18 years
of age and included 525 drivers who use cell phones and 420 non- users.
The margin of error for this study is +/- 3 percentage points at the
95% level of confidence. The survey was sponsored by Response Insurance
in 2001, developed with Leflein Associates, and fielded by Opinion Research
Corporation International. The analysis was conducted June 2003.
Contact:
Ray Palermo
Response Insurance
500 South Broad Street
Meriden CT 06450
Toll Free Tel: 888-288-6080, Ext. 7251
E-mail: rpalermo@response.com
Off-hour Pager: 1-800-759-8888 / PIN: 1196453
Source: Response Insurance
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