The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that 22 percent of all crashes in 2008 could be attributed to distracted driving, and government statistics confirm that figure. In addition, insurance industry research shows that crashes due to distracted driving make up nearly 40 percent of insurance company payouts.
Distracted driving diverts the attention of the driver in three unique ways:
• Visual-taking your eyes off the road.
• Manual-taking your hands off the wheel.
• Cognitive-taking your mind off of what you are doing.
Thus, distracted driving encompasses multiple driver behaviors; eating or drinking, reading, grooming or even changing the radio station. But none has generated so many statistics and found its way into the headlines like cell phone use, particularly texting.
With more than 70 million Americans now owning smartphones, which contain myriad features beyond text and voice that further add to driver distraction, the issue is not going away anytime soon. Insurance companies are beginning to take notice with awareness campaigns, technology solutions and telematics devices that monitor driver patterns and behavior. These relatively expensive systems, traditionally found in commercial environments, have made their way into the consumer setting.
The statistics and research behind the dangers cell phones pose while driving are particularly compelling. In addition to the above-mentioned statistics, the National Highway Transportation Safety Association has determined through research that using a cell phone while driving increases the chances for an accident by 400 percent and is the cause of 23 percent of all vehicle crashes.
In commercial environments, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has deemed the practice a violation of safety regulations in the workplace and is increasing fines from $2,750 for the first occurrence to $11,000. Today, nearly 35 states have laws on the books regarding cell phone use behind the wheel.
In both work and personal environments, we are all feeling the pressure to be 'always on' when it comes to our cell phones. Many workers often have no choice but to use cell phones to communicate with offices and dispatchers. And the desire to increase productivity and efficiency created by the pressures of tight scheduling and unforeseen delays make using cell phones while driving more and more tempting. The same holds true for the general populace. Texting in particular is an instantaneous medium with the sender expecting an immediate response regardless of the activity of the recipient, including driving.
The Role of Technology
While technology certainly helped create the problem, it can now play a vital role in helping to solve it. A number of technologies are available today to assist those individuals who lack the self -control to curb cell phone use while driving and companies seeking to enforce compliance to distracted driving policies. A selection of these include:
Software-based: These solutions are inexpensive, always on and GPS-based, but can impact battery life and are smartphone-centric.
Text2Speech: These solutions keep a driver's eyes on the road but create a new set of distractions at the same time.
Network-based: These solutions require little user interaction but introduce unwanted "foreign objects" into the network.
Hardware-based: These solutions work with most Bluetooth devices as well as dumb phones, but are complex and expensive to install and maintain.
All of the technologies have their strengths and weaknesses, and all can help address this growing problem. Distracted driving is an issue that is not going away anytime soon. Implementing a simple software solution can truly be a lifesaver.
Daniel Ross is CEO of Illume Software, a mobile software company.
