Triple-I Blog | Cellphone Bans Cut Crashes; TelematicsCan Help ReduceDistracted Driving

Max Dorfman, Analysis Author, Triple-I

State prohibitions on cellphone use whereas driving correlate with lowered crash charges, in line with recent research by the Insurance Institute for High Safety (IIHS). Nonetheless, total outcomes have been combined among the many states studied, with totally different authorized language, levels of enforcement, and penalty severity, offering doable explanations for the differing outcomes.

The research noticed crash fee modifications in California, Oregon, and Washington after laws to forestall cellphone calls and texting whereas driving was enacted in 2017, with the analysis taking a look at total numbers from 2015 to 2019. These numbers have been in comparison with management states Idaho and Colorado.

Notably, the research discovered:

• A 7.6 p.c discount within the fee of month-to-month rear-end crashes of all severities relative to the charges within the management states;
• Legislation modifications in Oregon and Washington have been related to vital reductions of 8.8 p.c and 10.9 p.c, respectively;
• California didn’t expertise modifications in rear-end crash charges of all severities or with accidents related to the strengthened legislation.

Nonetheless, state governments face a number of hurdles of their efforts to forestall crashes attributable to cellphone use.

“Know-how is transferring a lot quicker than the legal guidelines,” said Ian Reagan, a senior analysis scientist at IIHS. “Our findings recommend that different states may gain advantage from adopting broader legal guidelines in opposition to cellphone use whereas driving, however extra analysis is required to find out the mixture of wording and penalties that’s simplest.”

Distracted driving stays a significant subject

Distracted driving remains a significant problem on roads nationwide. Certainly, distracted driving elevated greater than 30 p.c from February 2020 to February 2022, due largely to modifications in driving patterns spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, in line with research by telematics service supplier Cambridge Cell Telematics.

The Governors Freeway Security Affiliation (GHSA) reported that greater than 3,100 individuals died in distraction-related accidents in 2020, with an estimated 400,000 individuals injured every year in such crashes. The true numbers, in line with the research, are probably larger attributable to underreporting. The report additionally discovered that cell dial, cell textual content, and cell-browse have been among the many most prevalent and highest-risk behaviors.

Telematics may also help

Telematics, which makes use of cellular expertise to trace driver conduct and supply monetary incentives to drive much less and infrequently and extra fastidiously, may also help cut back harmful driving. The extra shoppers positively react to the inducement, the much less they pay for his or her insurance coverage.

Research from the Insurance Research Council – like Triple-I, a nonprofit affiliate of The Institutes, targeted on this actual subject, finding out public notion and use of telematics. The research discovered that 45 p.c of drivers surveyed mentioned they made vital safety-related modifications in the best way they drove after collaborating in a telematics program. One other 35 p.c mentioned they made small modifications in the best way they drive.

Throughout the pandemic, insurance coverage shoppers’ consolation with the thought of letting their driving be monitored in change for a greater premium appeared to improve. In Might 2019, mobility knowledge and analytics agency Arity surveyed 875 licensed drivers over the age of 18 to learn the way snug they’d be having their premiums adjusted based mostly on telematics variables. Between 30 and 40 p.c mentioned they’d be both very or extraordinarily snug sharing this knowledge. In Might 2020, they ran the survey once more with greater than 1,000 licensed drivers.

“This time,” Arity mentioned, “about 50 p.c of drivers have been snug with having their insurance coverage priced based mostly on the variety of miles they drive, the place they drive, and what time of day they drive, in addition to distracted driving and dashing.”