Are you one of them ? ? ?
#1
11-22-2011, 04:54 AM
Are you one of them ? ? ?
Who are the most distracted drivers? Are you one of them ? Member's post & let us know so we can watch out 4 U 
Most of us recognize that there's a danger, but drivers with certain income and education levels have a greater tendency to text, eat or read behind the wheel.
Well-educated, well-off American drivers say they've suffered the consequences of distracted driving more than other motorists, from getting a ticket to getting involved in a major accident, according to a poll commissioned by InsuranceQuotes.com.
The poll, by GfK Roper, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, shows how universal distracted driving has become: Ninety-three percent of drivers report they engage in it somehow, whether by texting, talking on a cellphone -- or even kissing.
All that distraction has consequences: Four in 10 American adults who are licensed motorists acknowledge that being distracted while driving caused them to swerve into another lane, slam on the brakes, get a ticket, almost get into an accident or have a wreck.
That number rose to 49% for drivers who have college degrees and 43% for drivers who earn at least $75,000 a year. Those are the highest numbers among drivers from all income and education levels covered in the poll.
Del Lisk, vice president of safety services at DriveCam, which specializes in driver risk management, says well-to-do, well-educated drivers likely exhibit the same traits as a classic impatient "Type A" personality who's engaged in many activities.
"Because this person has lots of things going on in his or her life, I suspect they also have a lot more temptation to conduct distracting activities," Lisk says. "They probably have a higher volume of phone and email correspondence than other folks -- and they don't want to wait until after the drive to address it."
As for the consequences of distracted driving, well-off, well-educated drivers generally report more instances of everything from veering out of a lane to getting in a serious accident than do other drivers:
"They may or may not see activities such as use of a cellphone or texting as dangerous but probably feel that it's a bigger issue for other drivers," Lisk says. "Remember, these are confident, successful people. Unlike others, they feel they can do it and be relatively safe. It's the classic 'It can't happen to me' syndrome.
Leon James, a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii who has studied driver behavior, calls well-off, well-educated drivers "pioneers" whose actions behind the wheel are mirrored by other drivers, "as everyone is propelled by the habit of self-centered competition."
"Educated and well-paid individuals tend to be busy all day, and this attitude continues in the car," James says. "Multitasking and fatigue are chief causes of distracted driving."
Music, food cause most driving distractions
Well-to-do, well-educated drivers scored the highest in almost every "distracted" category of the poll:
Seventy percent of drivers age 18 to 24 copped to texting while driving. For drivers earning at least $75,000 a year, the figure was 52%; for drivers with a college degree, it was 50%. The number was 39% for all drivers polled.
As for lighting up, drivers earning less than $20,000 edged out the highest income bracket, 57% to 41%. Overall, 43% of the drivers polled said they'd lit up while driving.
In terms of age, drivers 18 to 24 pulled ahead in the text-messaging category (70%); drivers 25 to 34 led the pack for talking on a cellphone (84%), kissing or other amorous activity (42%), reading (34%) and applying makeup (22%); and drivers 35 to 49 swept the categories for adjusting a radio, CD player or iPod (90%), eating (82%) and lighting up (48%).
Nationwide cellphone ban?
The best way to tackle distracted driving involves combining several strategies, according to Vicki Harper, a spokeswoman for State Farm, the largest U.S. auto insurer. "Legislation, regulation, enforcement and technology all need to work together," Harper says.
Other experts say that creating a social stigma around distracted driving -- similar to what Mothers Against Drunk Driving helped do with drinking and driving -- is necessary as well. "We really have to make it wrong in people's minds," says Jennifer Smith, a founder of the distracted-driving awareness group FocusDriven.
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Not all driving safety experts agree that bans are the answer, but there are 34 states that ban texting while driving and nine states that ban all types of cellphone use while driving, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Recently, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that, depending on the outcome of research being done by his agency, he might push for an all-encompassing nationwide ban on cellphone use.
"Cell bans and texting bans are sweeping the country," says Barbara Harsha, the executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. "But people use cellphones and text and drive -- it's become the norm. It's going to take years to change that."
Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, notes that bans, especially on texting, are difficult to enforce and might even cause more distraction if drivers try to hide their texting. "The research so far indicates that policymakers should not expect a big benefit from these laws," Rader says.
Technology -- which has contributed to the distracted-driving problem -- may end up being a part of the solution, experts say. New apps for smartphones work with vehicle GPS systems to hold calls and text messages that arrive while the car is in motion. State Farm offers a free widget for the Android, "On the Move," that automatically replies to texts with a message such as, "I'm driving right now. I'll text you later." Rader says collision warning and avoidance systems being developed by automakers also hold promise.
Consequences of distracted driving
No matter the cause, distracted driving can be deadly and costly, experts say.
Sixteen percent of fatal crashes in 2009 were attributed to distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Auto insurance liability limits
"There's a whole laundry list of things people do while behind the wheel -- using a cellphone, texting, eating, reading, talking to passengers, even daydreaming," says Russ Martin, a legislative analyst for AAA. "Any of these could be a distraction that leads to a crash."
Experts say any at-fault crash, including a wreck attributed to distracted driving, can trigger a hike in a driver's auto insurance premiums.
According to the California-based nonprofit organization Consumer Watchdog, which keeps tabs on the insurance industry, a premium might increase between 35% and 80% in California for an at-fault accident. Allstate offers a ballpark estimate tool showing that a married 41-year-old woman in the state of New York who drives a new Lexus SUV might see her $92 monthly premium increase to $125 because of a crash -- a jump of 35%. Or a single 26-year-old man in Missouri who drives a 5-year-old Acura could see his $95-a-month premium go up to $133 as a result of one accident -- a 40% increase. Some companies, including Allstate, offer accident forgiveness, but a safe driving record generally keeps insurance premiums lower, experts say.
"When people get into an accident, the first thing they want to know is whether their premiums will go up -- and they will," says Doug Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog. "Distracted driving that causes more accidents and more claims payments will lead to an increase in premiums for everyone."
Poll methodology
This poll was conducted online Oct. 1-3, 2010, via OMNIWEB, a weekly national online omnibus service of GfK Roper Custom Research North America, for InsuranceQuotes.com. GfK Roper completed 1,006 interviews with 485 male and 521 female adults age 18 and older from a representative sample of the online population from GfK's online consumer panel. Of this group, GfK Roper identified 858 who had a valid driver's license.
The raw data were weighted by a custom-designed computer program that automatically develops a weighting factor for each respondent using five variables: age, sex, education, race and geographic region. Each interview was assigned a weight based on the relationship between the actual proportion of the population with its specific combination of the five variables used and the proportion in the sample that week. The margin of error for the weighted data is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
RELATED ARTICLES
Most of us recognize that there's a danger, but drivers with certain income and education levels have a greater tendency to text, eat or read behind the wheel.
Well-educated, well-off American drivers say they've suffered the consequences of distracted driving more than other motorists, from getting a ticket to getting involved in a major accident, according to a poll commissioned by InsuranceQuotes.com.
The poll, by GfK Roper, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, shows how universal distracted driving has become: Ninety-three percent of drivers report they engage in it somehow, whether by texting, talking on a cellphone -- or even kissing.
All that distraction has consequences: Four in 10 American adults who are licensed motorists acknowledge that being distracted while driving caused them to swerve into another lane, slam on the brakes, get a ticket, almost get into an accident or have a wreck.
That number rose to 49% for drivers who have college degrees and 43% for drivers who earn at least $75,000 a year. Those are the highest numbers among drivers from all income and education levels covered in the poll.
Del Lisk, vice president of safety services at DriveCam, which specializes in driver risk management, says well-to-do, well-educated drivers likely exhibit the same traits as a classic impatient "Type A" personality who's engaged in many activities.
"Because this person has lots of things going on in his or her life, I suspect they also have a lot more temptation to conduct distracting activities," Lisk says. "They probably have a higher volume of phone and email correspondence than other folks -- and they don't want to wait until after the drive to address it."
As for the consequences of distracted driving, well-off, well-educated drivers generally report more instances of everything from veering out of a lane to getting in a serious accident than do other drivers:
- 41% of well-educated drivers and 35% of high-income drivers say they've swerved out of their lane as a result of distracted driving, versus 32% of all drivers polled.
- 37% of drivers with a college degree and 33% in the highest income bracket report slamming on their brakes because of driving distractions, compared with 29% of all motorists polled.
- 26% of well-educated drivers and 22% of well-off drivers indicate that distracted driving caused them to nearly get into an accident, compared with 18% of all drivers polled.
- 22% of well-educated drivers and 18% of high-income drivers admit they've been ticketed as a result of distracted driving. That compares with 12% of all drivers polled.
- 20% of well-educated drivers and 16% of well-off drivers say they've been involved in a minor accident because of distracted driving, compared with 11% of all motorists polled.
- 17% of well-educated motorists and 13% of high-income drivers have been in a serious accident attributed to distracted driving, versus 8% of all drivers polled.
"They may or may not see activities such as use of a cellphone or texting as dangerous but probably feel that it's a bigger issue for other drivers," Lisk says. "Remember, these are confident, successful people. Unlike others, they feel they can do it and be relatively safe. It's the classic 'It can't happen to me' syndrome.
Leon James, a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii who has studied driver behavior, calls well-off, well-educated drivers "pioneers" whose actions behind the wheel are mirrored by other drivers, "as everyone is propelled by the habit of self-centered competition."
"Educated and well-paid individuals tend to be busy all day, and this attitude continues in the car," James says. "Multitasking and fatigue are chief causes of distracted driving."
Music, food cause most driving distractions
Well-to-do, well-educated drivers scored the highest in almost every "distracted" category of the poll:
- 92% of highly educated drivers and 95% of high-income drivers say they've adjusted a radio, CD player or iPod while driving. That compares with 87% of all of the adult drivers who were polled.
- 83% of highly educated and high-income drivers acknowledge they've eaten while behind the wheel, compared with 77% of all respondents.
- 80% of highly educated drivers and 85% of high-income drivers say they've talked on a cellphone while steering. The figure was 74% for all drivers.
- 39% of highly educated drivers and high-income drivers admit to kissing or engaging in other romantic physical contact while in the driver's seat. That compares with the 29% of all drivers who acknowledge they've been amorous behind the wheel.
- 33% of highly educated and high-income drivers say they've read while driving, versus 20% of all drivers polled.
Seventy percent of drivers age 18 to 24 copped to texting while driving. For drivers earning at least $75,000 a year, the figure was 52%; for drivers with a college degree, it was 50%. The number was 39% for all drivers polled.
As for lighting up, drivers earning less than $20,000 edged out the highest income bracket, 57% to 41%. Overall, 43% of the drivers polled said they'd lit up while driving.
In terms of age, drivers 18 to 24 pulled ahead in the text-messaging category (70%); drivers 25 to 34 led the pack for talking on a cellphone (84%), kissing or other amorous activity (42%), reading (34%) and applying makeup (22%); and drivers 35 to 49 swept the categories for adjusting a radio, CD player or iPod (90%), eating (82%) and lighting up (48%).
Nationwide cellphone ban?
The best way to tackle distracted driving involves combining several strategies, according to Vicki Harper, a spokeswoman for State Farm, the largest U.S. auto insurer. "Legislation, regulation, enforcement and technology all need to work together," Harper says.
Other experts say that creating a social stigma around distracted driving -- similar to what Mothers Against Drunk Driving helped do with drinking and driving -- is necessary as well. "We really have to make it wrong in people's minds," says Jennifer Smith, a founder of the distracted-driving awareness group FocusDriven.
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Not all driving safety experts agree that bans are the answer, but there are 34 states that ban texting while driving and nine states that ban all types of cellphone use while driving, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Recently, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that, depending on the outcome of research being done by his agency, he might push for an all-encompassing nationwide ban on cellphone use.
"Cell bans and texting bans are sweeping the country," says Barbara Harsha, the executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. "But people use cellphones and text and drive -- it's become the norm. It's going to take years to change that."
Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, notes that bans, especially on texting, are difficult to enforce and might even cause more distraction if drivers try to hide their texting. "The research so far indicates that policymakers should not expect a big benefit from these laws," Rader says.
Technology -- which has contributed to the distracted-driving problem -- may end up being a part of the solution, experts say. New apps for smartphones work with vehicle GPS systems to hold calls and text messages that arrive while the car is in motion. State Farm offers a free widget for the Android, "On the Move," that automatically replies to texts with a message such as, "I'm driving right now. I'll text you later." Rader says collision warning and avoidance systems being developed by automakers also hold promise.
Consequences of distracted driving
No matter the cause, distracted driving can be deadly and costly, experts say.
Sixteen percent of fatal crashes in 2009 were attributed to distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Auto insurance liability limits
"There's a whole laundry list of things people do while behind the wheel -- using a cellphone, texting, eating, reading, talking to passengers, even daydreaming," says Russ Martin, a legislative analyst for AAA. "Any of these could be a distraction that leads to a crash."
Experts say any at-fault crash, including a wreck attributed to distracted driving, can trigger a hike in a driver's auto insurance premiums.
According to the California-based nonprofit organization Consumer Watchdog, which keeps tabs on the insurance industry, a premium might increase between 35% and 80% in California for an at-fault accident. Allstate offers a ballpark estimate tool showing that a married 41-year-old woman in the state of New York who drives a new Lexus SUV might see her $92 monthly premium increase to $125 because of a crash -- a jump of 35%. Or a single 26-year-old man in Missouri who drives a 5-year-old Acura could see his $95-a-month premium go up to $133 as a result of one accident -- a 40% increase. Some companies, including Allstate, offer accident forgiveness, but a safe driving record generally keeps insurance premiums lower, experts say.
"When people get into an accident, the first thing they want to know is whether their premiums will go up -- and they will," says Doug Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog. "Distracted driving that causes more accidents and more claims payments will lead to an increase in premiums for everyone."
Poll methodology
This poll was conducted online Oct. 1-3, 2010, via OMNIWEB, a weekly national online omnibus service of GfK Roper Custom Research North America, for InsuranceQuotes.com. GfK Roper completed 1,006 interviews with 485 male and 521 female adults age 18 and older from a representative sample of the online population from GfK's online consumer panel. Of this group, GfK Roper identified 858 who had a valid driver's license.
The raw data were weighted by a custom-designed computer program that automatically develops a weighting factor for each respondent using five variables: age, sex, education, race and geographic region. Each interview was assigned a weight based on the relationship between the actual proportion of the population with its specific combination of the five variables used and the proportion in the sample that week. The margin of error for the weighted data is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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#2
11-22-2011, 05:09 AM
I'll take a drink of my Pepsi at a red light. But usually while the car is moving my only distraction will be the radio. I'll eat my subway sub in the car, because the seats in the Monte are like sitting on a sofa. But I'm parked at the time.
#3
11-22-2011, 07:16 AM
A couple days ago I swung into Famous Dave's BBQ to pick up some ribs to go and there was a big black lady in front of me also picking up an order. She left, I got my order and left and then I was driving down the street and came to stop light. I look over and there she is at the stoplight next to me with a big meaty sauce-dripping rib in her one hand and licking the fingers of her other hand. She was just chowing on it at the stoplight. It was so gross, there had to be sauce all over her steering wheel.
The only thing I'll eat in my car is the occasional fry. Otherwise there is no eating in my car.
The only thing I'll eat in my car is the occasional fry. Otherwise there is no eating in my car.
#4
11-22-2011, 07:41 AM
And she said
"Alex, if we can't EAT in your Monte, then I don't want 2 ride" 
Taz will let me eat He even parks & shares his foot long subway with me...I think he likes eating in his awesome Monte
4-Sure : )
Last edited by Space; 11-22-2011 at 07:48 AM.
#5
11-22-2011, 08:06 AM
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Albertville MN
Posts: 4,389
I'm with Taz. NOPE don't do nothing but drive. And like TAZ maybe the radio. No eatting in my Monte anyways NO ONE. Not me not you! Phone rings I look at it at a light or stop sign. Never make calls while driving. And NEVER EVER TEXT while behind the wheel
#6
11-22-2011, 08:07 AM
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Albertville MN
Posts: 4,389
fan
Space. I see her hairing and dress blowing around. But if you look. The FAN IS OFF how do they do that 
how do they do that
#7
11-22-2011, 08:14 AM
Rick, I don't see her hair or dress blow'in ? LOL
Maybe it's just your imagination ?
Or maybe there's a fan in front of her blowing that we can't see in the pic ? Or maybe it's Magic ? of maybe `Taz
LOL ~> Hope you EnJoyed...& thanks for driving with no distractions...U R setting a good example 4 us young'ins
Maybe it's just your imagination ?
Or maybe there's a fan in front of her blowing that we can't see in the pic ? Or maybe it's Magic ? of maybe `Taz
LOL ~> Hope you EnJoyed...& thanks for driving with no distractions...U R setting a good example 4 us young'ins
#8
11-22-2011, 08:22 AM
usually only the radio or a drink while i'm driving or something simple to eat like a candy bar or something. In the mornings driving in NY/NJ metro areas you dont have time to be distracted, you'll rear end someone so fast your head will spin
#9
11-22-2011, 08:41 AM
I do get distracted from time to time i will admit, i eat in my monte but only a few things Jack in the Box tacos & burgers nothing else, i will send a text msg if & only if no other car is close & i can type it quick, so yup i do thst stuff shouldnt ikn but i do
