Distracted Driving Is More Deadly Than Data Shows: Special Report

By | October 18, 2017

  • October 18, 2017 at 9:39 am
    David says:
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    • October 18, 2017 at 11:29 am
      Doug Fisher says:
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      This has literally proven to be false. Your small sample size of anecdotal evidence means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Talking on a cell phone definitely causes a rise in accidents. Reading a text message diverts your attention away from the road (even billboards are on the side of the road, keeping the actual road in your periphery)

      • October 23, 2017 at 4:35 pm
        David says:
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        Doug – polarbear is right. You’re deluding yourself. The question is why?

    • October 18, 2017 at 12:32 pm
      PolarBeaRepeal says:
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      Keep repeating that to yourself. Remember what Goebbels said about lies?

      Comparative analysis is a failed debate method when the premises on which you rely are, themselves, faulty.

      • October 18, 2017 at 2:28 pm
        Agent says:
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        Polar, several of my carriers have recognized what the cell phone addiction problem has become since they are paying the claims on the accidents. Almost all of them have been hurt with rising Loss Ratios in Personal Auto. State Farm lost $7 Billion last year on just that line and I would like to know how much of it was due to distracted driving using cell phones to talk or text. I would be a fair amount of the loss was due to this most dangerous distraction.

      • October 23, 2017 at 4:39 pm
        Agent says:
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        Polar, something tells me that the Algorithms used by carriers the last few years did not take into account cell addictive drivers trying to talk and text.

    • October 18, 2017 at 1:23 pm
      Jack Kanauph says:
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      I am hoping David was just being sarcastic. Texting or talking while driving IS a dangerous distraction. It is ultimately up to the driver to make the decision not to text or talk or Facebook… while driving. Hopefully it is a minor mishap that wakes those up who choose this dangerous behavior. My wake up call (no pun intended) was a near collision into the back of a van with kids in it. My phone sits in the car console while I am driving, and now with the new iPhone app to keep it off while driving.

  • October 18, 2017 at 10:29 am
    Mark Brisson says:
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    Texting is not just a “teen” problem. There are millions of employees who seek to do work while behind the wheel. Fleet vehicles/company cars are on the road more than teen drivers. They “multi-task” becoming very distracted.

    The State wants to increase fees and fines, but there is a tech way to stop these distraction. There are apps to block you using your phone when you drive. AT&T DriveMode is one example and it is FREE!

    One area that is rarely discussed is that each state has hundreds of State vehicles that inspectors, regulators and the agricultural department use as fleet vehicles, but they do not have the technology to diminish distracted driving. I would love to see one state lead by example and use a program, like FleetMode, to block texts, redirect incoming phone calls, and impede all other apps in the State vehicles. If we want our state roads to be safer, let’s start by making our state vehicles safer.

    • October 18, 2017 at 11:31 am
      Doug Fisher says:
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      Apple’s new iOS 11 update enables a functionality that silences phones when the phone can sense that a car is driving. Things like this should become the standard and mandatory. A life is too precious to risk needing to read that inane text message your friend or colleague sends you.

      Remember life before cell phones, when someone needed to get ahold of you, they were just fine waiting a short while for you to get back to them. In 99.9% of instances when someone is calling or texting you, there is no necessity to answer it while driving or doing other activities which require attention.

      • October 18, 2017 at 12:35 pm
        PolarBeaRepeal says:
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        Nope. Just OBEY the laws on the books. And, monitor the TAXES you paid on your cell phone bill to see that politicians who object to cell phone use in autos being regulated are addicted to the excise taxes, etc. that would decrease with tighter regulation of cell phone use in cars.

        • October 18, 2017 at 3:36 pm
          LOL! says:
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          PolarTroll, I swear you just like to be contrary to what everyone else is thinking and saying. Do you even work in insurance? Anybody in our industry knows the larger picture of this tragedy. We’ve lost customers lives to distracted driving. You are doing a disservice to your conservative base by being contrary to this issue.

          • October 18, 2017 at 7:22 pm
            PolarBeaRepeal says:
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            Really? Re-read what I wrote. I take the same stance as others here, yet you looked for a ‘contrary position’ for some reason and found it. LOL!

          • October 23, 2017 at 4:37 pm
            David says:
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            You missed the point altogether! Re-Read.

  • October 18, 2017 at 1:25 pm
    Mickey Dee says:
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    Howard Stern summed it up the other day. He said that because of all the accidents that happen due to cell phones, why don’t they teach people how to drive and text at the same time in Drivers Ed Classes?

    • October 18, 2017 at 7:23 pm
      PolarBeaRepeal says:
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      Is that fool still on the air? OMG!

  • October 18, 2017 at 1:51 pm
    reality bites says:
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    “Last year, 5,987 pedestrians were killed by cars in the U.S.”

    I wonder how many of these were to phone zombies, paying attention to their phones and not traffic. I see countless idiots on the sidewalk totally oblivious to their surroundings.

  • October 18, 2017 at 2:02 pm
    dw says:
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    While out for a run in March, I was hit by a “distracted” driver – she was talking to her children and driving too fast. There are many reasons this happens and adding insult to injury is that speed just exacerbates the problem (in this instance she whipped around a corner too fast and in the wrong lane). And I was simply crossing from one trail head to another, not running along the side of the road. Bottom line – I’m one of the lucky people who lived to tell the story – something MUST be done to stop the madness

  • October 18, 2017 at 2:08 pm
    mark hanna says:
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    Kudos to Jennifer Smith for pointing out how wrong a scientific study may be. Lawmakers can look at the number 3% and say that’s not worth implementing statewide legislation to stop it. A closer look at the record number of pedestrians and cyclists struck and killed by vehicles in our major cities may point to what is really happening behind the wheel.

  • October 18, 2017 at 4:01 pm
    Interested says:
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    After reviewing the vehicle fatalities in my State, I uncovered a concerning trend that the majority of deaths occur for people between the ages of 22-24 years old.

    After speaking with parents of teenagers in my book of business, I uncovered that most parents are stricter with the use of phones during the early driving years 16-20. After the teen has a couple years of driving experience, the parents are no longer coaching the teen on usage because they assume they already know the rules. The teen then begins to use their phone on occasion. After a while of using the phone and driving, the teen feels that no consequences occurred, and the amount they use on their phone increases. It’s not long after this a potentially fatal accident occurs.

    As some of you have noted, teens are not the only issue, it’s just in my State, they do outnumber all other ages in fatal car accidents. This is a great article to also help explain the rise in auto insurance rates. This will impact everyone, not just those involved in accidents, if regulations are not put in place to curb this trend, we will see more uninsured driver’s who simply can’t afford to carry car insurance coverage.

    • October 19, 2017 at 11:33 am
      Agent says:
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      Cell addiction is a huge problem in this country. Social media is equally serious.

      • October 19, 2017 at 1:49 pm
        Captain Planet says:
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        Agent,
        I agree the addiction is real. Heck, even our President is an addict. He can’t stay off Twitter.

        • October 20, 2017 at 2:58 pm
          Agent says:
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          Gets his message out, doesn’t he? By the way, the last time I checked, he didn’t drive that big limousine around.

          • October 20, 2017 at 5:01 pm
            Captain Planet says:
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            Amazing – here you are talking about how big of a problem the addiction is and then giving our president a pass on being an addict. Hypocrisy much? Do you even realize you’re doing it?

            Oh, he gets his message out all right. Which is why he’s the laughing stock of the world right now.

  • October 23, 2017 at 4:16 pm
    David Day says:
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    The addiction is partly a well engineered “product” of the Data Industry – $billions are made on people transmitting data while driving. The addiction – like all addictions – is also hugely a function of the weak minded.

    • October 24, 2017 at 2:15 pm
      Captain Planet says:
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      Case in point – POTUS 45.

  • October 23, 2017 at 4:49 pm
    DDay says:
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    People! Simply google the largest US advertisers by $$ – Data companies spend billions. They (lobbying) are the biggest obstacle to reform.



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