Distracted driving was involved in over 3,000 traffic fatalities in 2017. A recent study revealed that the average American motorist drives 3.3 miles while distracted each day. This behavior only multiplies the risk of car accidents.
The study was conducted by TrueMotion, a smartphone-only driving data platform. On average, it found that each motorist was in their car 72 minutes and traveled 40 miles daily. They usually made 4½ trips each day and drove 31 mph. In these 72 minutes, drivers spent 6½ minutes using their phone, 1½ minutes making calls on handheld phones and 2.6 minutes engaged in hand-free calls. This totals driving 3.3 miles while distracted.
The hour when most people drive distracted is 5:00 pm during the commute home. Drivers admitted to being distracted for 12.6 minutes. Forty-three percent of drivers said they made up lost office time during their commute by using their phone. They also send texts to family members saying that they are coming home. The least distracted hour is 5:00 am. During this low activity time, there was just 4.6 minutes of distracted driving.
The study also revealed that Wednesday and Thursday are the worst days for distracted driving, followed closely by Friday. On average, there were 11.4 minutes of distracted driving on these days. Sunday was the best day with only 9.2 minutes per hour of distracted driving.
It is unlikely that drivers will detour from this distracting and dangerous behavior. An attorney can help victims of accidents caused by distracted drivers seek compensation in a lawsuit.
