Distracted driving has contributed to a worrying rise in pedestrian deaths – but new technologies that can track how often drivers text and scroll could lead to better enforcement and changing driver habits, two new studies argue.
According to two studies published this month by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, two technologies — road cameras calibrated to capture distracted driving and apps that collect driver data, called “telematics” — can determine exactly when and how Do people often use their smartphones when they are out and about?
“The common theme across several studies looking at crash risk is that the more complex a driver’s visual activity, the higher the risk of crashing,” said Ian Reagan, senior research scientist at IIHS.
“The longer you look away, the more you have to do things with your hands. You have to steer the car and your hands are not on the steering wheel.”
Today, most data on cell phone distraction comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s annual survey, which is conducted by human observers who peer into vehicle cabins at intersections when a car stops and record what they see. However, the observers do not carry out their research all year round, but only twelve hours a day for several weeks in the summer.
In some states, police and state troopers also patrol roads to detect distracted drivers and set up checkpoints where they issue tickets to drivers who enjoy texting. In New York state, where using cell phones and texting while driving is illegal, officials conducted a crackdown in April that resulted in 2,860 distracted driving tickets out of a total of 65,066 tickets, according to the state DMV.
These efforts still leave policymakers with an incomplete picture of driver behavior. So Reagan and his team tried to fill in the gaps by analyzing data from Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts-based software company that has developed an app that uses algorithms, GPS and Bluetooth connectivity to record when drivers are on the phone or on the phone Swipe across screens Your car is in motion. This data typically goes to insurance companies that offer discounted rates based on a driver’s mileage and safety habits. However, the company sometimes shares anonymized and aggregated versions of the information with groups like the IIHS.
Researchers at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety examined trips taken by passengers who downloaded the CMT app in the weeks of July and August between 2019 and 2022 to compare them with the federal transportation survey results. They found that even though phone calls became less frequent over this period, drivers still used their phones on average one-third of their trips and made a call on 3.5 percent of their trips. They also found that drivers only used their phones for just over three percent of their total travel time.
In a separate study, Reagan and his team mounted automated cameras on a road trailer to take photos of distracted drivers and compared the data with observations from people recording their findings at intersections. They found that both methods can distinguish when a driver is using their cell phone, and concluded that cameras could do the same job as a pedestrian watcher on highways – especially on remote roads where it is often unsafe to approach cars in person observe.
Many municipalities have already installed red light and speed cameras on lampposts and traffic lights to deter speeding in school zones, but are not yet using these devices to capture evidence of cell phone use, despite studies like this showing they have the capability . Reagan says politics is to blame.
“There is a very vocal opposition to traffic cameras, whether for speeding or running a red light,” he said. “The political opposition raising ‘Big Brother’ concerns about privacy will move in the same direction. But when you look at residents who live in communities that have traffic cameras, the support is overwhelming. Pedestrians like speed cameras.”
Some of that opposition comes from residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods who believe speed cameras disproportionately affect drivers of color. An analysis of speed camera locations in New York City found no correlation between placement and the ethnicity of residents in surrounding neighborhoods, but unsafe arterial streets where drivers often speed are typically concentrated in communities of color. Still, some studies have shown that using cameras instead of police stops can reduce racial disparities in traffic violations.
Reagan believes officials can avoid bias against certain neighborhoods by placing cameras in areas where traffic accidents and deaths are more common.
“They’re not trying to catch people or generate revenue for ticket money. They are trying to reduce crashes. They only want to put cameras in places where accidents occur,” he said. “You have to get that message across.”
When it comes to telematics, the technology is still relatively new and has not yet been used by enough drivers to be an effective tool for reducing driving distractions. Other technologies, such as driver monitoring systems that monitor the driver’s head and eye position, could have an even greater impact on road safety if rolled out more widely.
In the meantime, the best solution is for drivers to put their phones away.
“The cognitive distraction effects have been demonstrated in studies showing that when people are distracted, they stop scanning the road as often and tend to have tunnel vision,” Reagan said.
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