Skip to main content

Smartphone use while driving may explain end to 40-year decline in road deaths

Smartphone use while driving may explain last year’s reversal to a 40-year decline in U.S. road deaths, it has been suggested.

The National Safety Council reported that motor vehicle deaths rose 6% last year, while injuries requiring medical treatment rose 7%. An analysis of device usage among 3.1M drivers found that they make at least some use of phones while driving on a staggering 88% of trips.

On average, drivers spend 3.5 minutes per hour using their smartphone while driving.

The data isn’t conclusive: it doesn’t distinguish between usage while travelling at speed and use in nose-to-tail traffic. Usage can also very from hitting an acknowledgement button in a navigation app to texting while driving.

But clearly something has to explain the rise in road deaths at a time when cars continue to become safer, and we’ve all seen examples of distracted driving through smartphone use. Studies show that looking at a phone for two seconds increases the risk of a collision by up to 24 times, and that distracted driving can be as dangerous as drunk driving.

The UK ran a hard-hitting video campaign designed to make young drivers in particular aware of the risks of smartphone use while driving. If you know anyone who does it, I highly recommend pointing them to the video below.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel