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submitted 10 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

During the pandemic, distracted driving increased, and it hasn’t gone down since.

Until relatively recently, good data on the problem of distracted driving has been hard to find. The government estimates that 3,522 people died because of it in 2021, but experts say the official number probably majorly undercounts the number of deaths, in part because police are rarely able to definitively prove that a driver was distracted right before a crash.

In the last few years, though, the data on distracted driving has gotten better. Cambridge Mobile Telematics is a company that partners with major insurance companies to offer downloadable apps that drivers can use to save money on their rates. Via the apps, Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) uses mobile phone sensors to measure driving behavior, including whether a person is speeding, holding their phone, or interacting with an unlocked screen while driving (the company says it doesn’t collect information on what the drivers are doing on their phones). Its work gives the company insight into the driving behaviors of more than 10 million people.

CMT recently analyzed driver behavior during millions of car trips. What it found should be troubling to anyone who uses a road in the US: During the pandemic, American drivers got even more distracted by their phones while driving. The amount of distracted driving hasn’t receded, even as life has mostly stabilized.

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[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago
[-] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 13 points 10 months ago

I've been driving for 20 years now. I think the first 10 years i never used my horn once. I always thought it's pointless when someone doesn't doesn't go immediately when the traffic light turns green. Now a days and since i drive for work a lot, i honk maybe once a day because people don't go, because they are usually on their phones or filming tiktoks or whatever the hell. It's sometimes downright scary seeing people on the other lane just driving absolutely blind.

[-] madcaesar@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

Unpopular take, any video uploaded with the speaker driving and recording should be issues an instant fine and videos banned from the internet.

[-] ieatpillowtags@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

I think that’s a very popular take here!

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

I stopped driving as soon as I move to a city. sounds really dangerous

this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
283 points (98.3% liked)

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