Main factor in distracted driving deaths not phones, it's getting lost in thought

[aGameOfThrones]

It turns out electronic devices aren't the leading cause of distracted driving car crashes. Around 10 percent of all accidents that cause a death involve distracted driving, and Bloomberg reports that an Erie Insurance Group study has found that daydreaming and being lost in thought are responsible for 62 percent of those crashes. Mobile phone use, meanwhile, accounted for just 12 percent of those accidents. The study used police reports for its data, and as such, the numbers could greatly underestimate the role distracted driving plays in serious incidents.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it requires some 20 complex decisions to stay on course for every mile you drive. The group recommends drivers be aware of when their not paying attention to the road and do what they can to minimize those moments.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/04/main-factor-in-distracted-driving-deaths-not-phones-its-gettin/

[oyarde]

So , they polled the dead people about getting lost in thought ?

[Occam's Banana]

So , they polled the dead people about getting lost in thought ?

That was my first thought.

So obviously, the data can only account for those who (1) cause crashes that do not kill themselves, AND (2) self-report that they were daydreaming or lost in thought.

Just as obviously, the data cannot account for those who (2) cause crashes that do kill themselves, OR (2) falsely self-report that they were not daydreaming or lost in thought.

There is also the case of those who falsely self-report that they were daydreaming of lost in thought when they were actually doing something else (such as getting roadhead, or messing with their cell phones, or whatever).

IOW: bogus numbers are bogus.

Which is not to say that the conclusion is wrong. In fact, I rather suspect that it is correct. But I base that on simple common sense - not pseudo-scientifficky statistics based on self-reporting and truncated population samples.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Quick!!! Let's outlaw thinking while driving!

[asurfaholic]

Quick!!! Let's outlaw thinking while driving!

Lol. I believe this report. I think alot of my driving is done on instinct. I always get creeped out when I realize that I don't remember driving the last 5 minutes..

Never had an at fault accident tho, so I guess my subconscious is a pretty good driver too,

[KrokHead]

Sadly everything is a distraction, loud friends, the radio, the phone. I know there's something wrong with the world when people are expecting me to check my emails when I'm driving to one job to the other.

[MRK]

Sadly everything is a distraction, loud friends, the radio, the phone. I know there's something wrong with the world when people are expecting me to check my emails when I'm driving to one job to the other.

Natural selection will take care of all these people eventually. You have to remember people have only been driving in massive numbers for 50 some years and these people haven't had the chance to die off yet. I would repeat much of the stupid things passengers and my friends have done while driving but I'd rather not embarrass people who realize they've done the same things.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Lol. I believe this report. I think alot of my driving is done on instinct. I always get creeped out when I realize that I don't remember driving the last 5 minutes..

Never had an at fault accident tho, so I guess my subconscious is a pretty good driver too,


I hear ya. When I was in my 20s, I might drive to a friend's house and they'd say something like "I don't remember driving home last night." My response would usually be: "That's weird. I don't remember driving over here just now." (completely serious and completely sober, of course.)

Every now and then, I'll find myself driving to the completely wrong place, just because I'm on autopilot. I've also never been at fault in an accident, and avoided who knows how many by thinking quickly when others weren't.