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Reports of What Other Drivers See on Our Roads.

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Chances are you've recently seen a driver behaving and driving in a distracted way. Maybe even today. Tell us when, and describe their distracted activity. Compared to other postings, how dangerous was your sighting?

Rate Drivers

Showing reports 0 - 25 of 176

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Distracted Driving Stories - Decide to Drive

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Chances are you've recently seen a driver behaving and driving in a distracted way. Maybe even today. Tell us when, and describe their distracted activity. Compared to other postings, how dangerous was your sighting? Showing reports 0 - 25 of 176

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Consumer Reports-The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

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Consumer Reports-The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

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Consumer Reports-The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

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Consumer Reports-The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

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Many experts say that drivers distracted by smartphones and other technology are a problem. Consumer Reports looks at proposed answers to driving while distracted.

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Children are especially at risk of distracted drivers because busy roads are near their schools. A new study pinpoints the nation's five worst counties for those kinds of drivers as New York, Kings and Queens counties in New York state, San Francisco County in California, and Miami-Dade County in Florida.

Researchers found 88 percent of drivers are using their phones while behind the wheel. And one in three are engaged in unsafe behaviors in a school zone.

Parents walking their kids to San Francisco's Bessie Carmichael Elementary School might not know they're in the nation's second-most dangerous county for distracted drivers, reports CBS News' Carter Evans.

"I'm about to step and walk across the street and I almost got run over by somebody," said Claudia Morales. She says that she and her daughter have had several close calls. Eight-year-old Thalia thinks she knows why.

"They're on their phones, they're texting," Thalia said.

A new study analyzed almost four million drivers cruising near 75,000 schools. It determined that Bessie Carmichael Elementary School has some of the most dangerous streets in the country for distracted driving. A school in Houston has the worst drivers, with campuses in Manhattan and Dallas rounding out the top five. In general, the more urban the county, the riskier the school roads.

Asked whether morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up is more dangerous, Jonathan Matus said, "Absolutely, the afternoon by about 40 percent."

Matus is the CEO of Zendrive, the company behind the research. He says the afternoon hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. are more dangerous than the morning - especially from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. This is likely due to heavier work traffic. All his data is now collected online for anyone to access.

"We put all this information into a very powerful map, where you can search any name of any of the 75,000 schools that we collected," Matus said.

For instance, if you type in the study's top-rated school, Victory Christian School in North Carolina, it will show you it's "A+" grade for average phone use while driving. That's in contrast to Trinity Lutheran Church in Texas, which received an "F." Armed with new data, police can deploy more resources to dangerous areas.

"Police work is driven by information. So if the information is showing we have to keep addressing traffic issues in order to make the streets better, well that's a good thing," said Joe Engler of the San Francisco Police Department.

Matus says he hopes parents will take any failing grades to their local school boards and law enforcement.

" It's their duty to keep our kids safe. And now we can give them a scorecard and keep them accountable and help them focus the resources to areas that really need that attention," Matus said.

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Distracted driving study maps the most dangerous roads near schools

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Children are especially at risk of distracted drivers because busy roads are near their schools. A new study pinpoints the nation's five worst counties for those kinds of drivers as New York, Kings and Queens counties in New York state, San Francisco County in California, and Miami-Dade County in Florida.

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People Who Text and Drive are Jacking Up Your Insurance Premiums

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People Who Text and Drive are Jacking Up Your Insurance Premiums

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Your Brain Distractions-Multi Tasking-The BIG LIE

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Your Brain Distractions-Multi Tasking-The BIG LIE

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Directions: What do I do on this padlet? I have created this padlet and shared a copy with each one of you. You double click on the one blank slide below each slide with the same title and note important facts and details. 

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Directions: What do I do on this padlet? I have created this padlet and shared a copy with each one of you. You double click on the one blank slide below each slide with the same title and note important facts and details. 

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People Who Text and Drive Are Jacking Up Your Insurance Premiums

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People Who Text and Drive Are Jacking Up Your Insurance Premiums

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By BRAD TUTTLE March 20, 2017

Last fall, a 17-year-old driver in Maine caused a 10-vehicle accident when she drove through a red light. According to police, the teen driver never noticed the light was red because—you guessed it—she was looking at her cellphone.

Luckily no one died in that accident. But the incident is part of a larger epidemic that is most certainly killing people on America’s roads. Even as cars themselves are becoming safer thanks to better technology and design, the rise of smartphones has been correlated to higher rates of road accidents and traffic fatalities, insurance experts say. Last year 40,200 people died in traffic accidents, an increase of 14% over 2014.Now auto insurers are jacking up premiums on drivers in response to the increase in collisions.

More accidents equate to higher costs for insurance companies, and insurers pass along these costs to customers. The Boston Globe reports that insurers plan on increasing auto premiums 3% to 6% on Massachusetts drivers this year, on top of increases of 6% to 9% in 2016. Insurers in North Carolina, meanwhile, have requested auto premium hikes averaging 13.8%, according to the Charlotte Observer. Drivers in neighboring South Carolina saw their auto insurance rates increase an average of 8.9% last year.

The increase smartphone usage behind the wheel is a significant reason behind the rising rates. “I would characterize distracted driving as a big factor,” Massachusetts Division of Insurance spokesman Chris Goetcheus told the Globe. “It’s resulting in more accidents out on the road.”

“Distracted driving was always there, but it just intensified as more applications for the smartphones became available,” said Bill Caldwell, executive vice president of property and casualty at Horace Mann Insurance, to the Wall Street Journal recently. The insurer plans on hiking auto insurance premiums an average of 8% this year on top of a 6.5% hike last year.

Young people appear to be disproportionately responsible for fatal road crashes involving a distracted driver—i.e. someone who might have been texting, scrolling through Snapchat messages, or using a navigation system. “Young drivers (age 16 to 24) have been observed manipulating electronic devices at higher rates than older drivers,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports, noting that 10% of drivers ages 15 to 19 involved in fatal crashes were distracted behind the wheel.

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Distracted driving is a dangerous and all-too-common habit. Cell phones, eating and even pets can prevent drivers from giving their full attention to the road. Check out these statistics from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and Distraction.gov - and stay safe behind the wheel.

Distracted driving puts lives at risk

As many as 1 in 4 accidents are caused by some type of driver distraction

Each day, distracted driving causes about 9 fatalities and 1,153 injuries

Taking your eyes off the road is a top driver distraction

When sending a text, the average person looks away from the road for 5 seconds

So, if you're texting and driving at 55 m.p.h., you could travel the length of a football field without looking at the road

Teens and adults are guilty of cell phone use while driving

69% of drivers ages 18-64 admit to talking on a phone while driving and 31% say they've texted or emailed while driving

20% of teens and 10% of parents admit they've had lengthy text conversations behind the wheel

Drivers don't always practice what they preach

In a recent survey, 98% of drivers acknowledge that texting and driving is dangerous

However, 74% admit to engaging in a text-related activity while driving

So why do people text and drive?

43% of drivers say they want to connect with friends, family and work

30% say they text and drive out of habit

28% say they're afraid of missing something important

27% say they felt others expected them to answer their phones right away

Smart phones aren't the only distraction

Daydreaming causes 62% of distracted driving accidents, according to one study

Eating, reading and applying makeup increases the likelihood of a crash 2-3 times

Kids cause parents to take their eyes off the road for an average of 3 minutes, 22 seconds during a 16-minute car ride - or 21% of total driving time

65% of dog owners admit they've been distracted when driving with their pet

Distracted driving laws are getting stricter

38 states ban cell phone use by novice drivers ages 18-21

45 states ban text messaging for all drivers

The median fine for a first-time texting and driving offense is $100

In Alaska, texting and driving can result in a $10,000 fine

Taking your eyes or mind off the road even for a moment can have disastrous consequences. Don't risk it. Practice safe driving whenever you're behind the wheel.

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By the Numbers: Distracted Driving Facts and Statistics

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Distracted driving is a dangerous and all-too-common habit. Cell phones, eating and even pets can prevent drivers from giving their full attention to the road. Check out these statistics from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and Distraction.gov - and stay safe behind the wheel.

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Your Brain and Distractions-Multi Tasking-The big LIE

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Your Brain and Distractions-Multi Tasking-The big LIE

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If you ever use your phone while driving, even hands free, you need to see this. Really cool interactive piece on the brain and driver distraction.

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Learn about distracted driving and consequences and dangers of texting and driving. Also get info on distracted driving statistics.

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It Starts with You: Zero Tolerance for Distracted Driving

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Concern is mounting about the effects of phone use and texting while driving.

Cellphones and texting

Talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is banned in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

The use of all cellphones by novice drivers is restricted in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 47 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in one state (Missouri).

Many localities have enacted their own bans on cellphones or text messaging. In some but not all states, local jurisdictions need specific statutory authority to do so. In addition, most school bus drivers are banned from texting and using hand-held cellphones by state code, regulation or school district policy.

The table and maps below show the states that have cellphone laws, whether they specifically ban text messaging, and whether they are enforced as primary or secondary laws. Under secondary laws, an officer must have some other reason to stop a vehicle before citing a driver for using a cellphone. Laws without this restriction are called primary.

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Concern is mounting about the effects of phone use and texting while driving. Talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is banned in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The use of all cellphones by novice drivers is restricted in 38 states and the District of Columbia.