DAYTON — We have all seen it. Drivers speed while using their cell phones. But did you know, the faster they go, the more they’re on their phone.
That information is from new research News Center 7 found from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
News Center 7’s Xavier Hershovitz found out how researchers hope this will help crack down on distracted drivers and make roads safer.
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“My entire world got turned upside down,” Logan Wise told News Center 7 last September after her husband died in a distracted driving crash.
Wise’s husband, Michael, was changing his tire on State Route 72 in Clark County last May.
“He had seen my husband in the road and decided to still reach for his phone, and when he did, he veered and sped up the car, which he ended up striking my husband,” Wise said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes.
“Trying to reduce these risky behaviors is a big part of our strategic plan,” said Ian Reagan, Senior Research Scientist at the IIHS.
In a new study, they found drivers are more likely to be on their phones while speeding, and that is a big change from other studies focused on distracted driving.
“Other work has shown, you know, cars slow down, that’s when drivers tend to grab their phones, but we saw the opposite, as speeding over the limit got higher,” Reagan said. “Cell phone use increased significantly.
When it comes to freeways, they found the share of driving time spent handling a phone rose by 12% for every 5 miles per hour drivers went over the limit.
“It only got worse as speed limits got higher and higher,” Reagan said. “So, the highest level of distraction that we saw was not only tied to the highest level of speeding, but it was on the roads with the highest speed limits also.
The IIHS hopes this new study will help law enforcement when cracking down on distracted driving, as enforcement operations focused on both speed and distractions, or even while investigating a crash.
“If there is evidence for speeding in a crash, they won’t look for distraction,” Reagan said. “And so, you know, our findings say, you know, maybe you need to go a little bit further with those crash investigations, well.”
All while keeping people safe on the roads.
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