Teens spend 20% of time behind the wheel looking at phone

Teenagers spend 20 percent of their time driving being distracted by their phones, according to new analysis.

The startling admission may come with deadly repercussions. More than 3,000 Americans die in crashes involving a distracted driver every year and nine people are killed every day.

Teen drivers are at a heightened risk for distracted driving than those in other age groups. In 2019, a higher percentage of fatal crashes involving distracted drivers were tied to those between the ages of 15 and 20 years old than drivers who were 21 years old and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One recent study from AAA found that driver inattention, or being engaged in other activity, was involved in 58 percent of teen crashes.

“Driving distracted doesn’t just put the driver at risk of injury or death; it puts everyone else on the road in danger of an accident,” Dr. Rebecca Robbins, of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a statement. “The findings from the study give us insights into the perceptions and beliefs from teenage drivers, which can be used to help create effective interventions to prevent distracted driving.”

Robbins is a founding member of Mass General Brigham and the lead author of the research, which was published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journalTraffic Injury Prevention. The study — co-authored by researchers in Germany and at other U.S. universities — was funded by the Casey Feldman Foundation, which is named in honor of a 21-year-old woman who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009.

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To reach these conclusions, the authors analysed data compiled during 20 interviews with high school students and a survey of more than 1,100 teen drivers across the U.S. They were hoping to pinpoint which factors influenced the teens to engage in distracted driving.

They found that teen drivers spend an average of 21.1 percent of each trip looking at their phone, and 26.5 percent of their glances away from the road lasted for two seconds or longer — a duration which dramatically increases their risk for a crash. Taking your eyes off the road for even five seconds at 55 miles per hour is similar to driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The most common reason cited for the teen drivers’ distraction was entertainment, followed by texting and navigation.

Furthermore, teen drivers recognized that they understand distraction at the wheel is associated with negative outcomes, but also said they believe that their peers drive distracted.

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Across the country, more than 35 states have banned all types of phone usage for young drivers. However, in a previous national study, 91.8 percent of adolescents reported “regularly engaging” in at least one distracted driving behavior per trip.

“We found that while young drivers recognize the advantages of using smartphone features like GPS, they also understand the heightened risk of accidents associated with distracted driving,” said Robbins. “Encouraging the use of ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, keeping phones out of reach and ensuring teens get adequate sleep are effective strategies to mitigate this dangerous behavior.”