Polls

Sad but true: most people use their phones while driving

by Daniel Petrov / Jul 16, 2018, 9:06 AM

Sad but true: most people use their phones while driving

Phones just do too much these days. They are our go-to devices for chatting, recording, checking stuff online, getting directions, you name it. It's just hard not to reach for them the second something passes our mind, or we need to reach someone. Heaven forbid that a notification goes unchecked! That's is why we asked you last week whether you use your phone while driving, and just 30% of our 1424 respondents answered in the negative. Most of us use their handsets every once in a while in the car while behind the wheel, and a full 23% are very often reaching for the unlock button when driving, sad but true.

Do you use your phone while driving?

Very often

22.82%

I reach for it sometimes

47.12%

Never

30.06%

Distracted driving is reaching epic (and epidemic) proportions, as people even have trouble keeping strictly in their lanes now, while perusing their handsets for texting, chatting, or even playing Pokemon Go by defeating the whole purpose of the game. Case in point is the new hands-free law in Georgia that forbids even touching your handset while behind the wheel. That one resulted in more than a 100 tickers per day since its introduction at the beginning of the month, but we are fairly certain that any traffic cop standing at any of our great nation's city crossroads could achieve the same Georgian "success" story.

Options

21 Comments

1. warrenellis93

Posts: 550; Member since: Jul 21, 2011

"our" phones not " their" because you said "us" that includes you

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 9:22 AM 0

6. warrenellis93

So your just going to fix the title and not comment that the title is fixed?

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:23 AM 0

13. Nine1Sickness

Posts: 896; Member since: Jan 30, 2011

Make cents please.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 2:20 PM 0

3. azuleyez

Posts: 23; Member since: Dec 07, 2012

I've been driving and using a cell phone for 20+ years without issue. Talking and driving has never been a distraction for me. My brain is capable of handling both tasks, simultaneously, with ease. I never text and drive though.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:15 AM 2

7. baldilocks

Posts: 1540; Member since: Dec 14, 2008

You only think it is. Tons of research proves otherwise.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:36 AM 2

12. tedkord

Posts: 17414; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

Talking on your handset is no more distracting than talking on bluetooth or talking to a passenger.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 1:26 PM 1

18. RebelwithoutaClue unregistered

Actually, talking to a passenger is different since they can watch traffic too and shut the hell up if things get a bit hectic.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 4:01 PM 0

17. RebelwithoutaClue unregistered

He is only talking about talking on the phone. And there isn't that much difference between handsfree calling and regular calling. But how much distracted you are, all depends on how intense the convo is.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 4:00 PM 0

10. sissy246

Posts: 7124; Member since: Mar 04, 2015

That's what they all say tell they hit someone.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 12:05 PM 1

21. lyndon420

Posts: 6828; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

Still...it's probably better to have both hands ready to grab the wheel at a moments notice. Keeping one hand occupied by continuously holding something will rob you of that one extra second needed.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 6:45 PM 0

5. TerryD

Posts: 553; Member since: May 09, 2017

I'm amazed at how man people pick up heir handset to talk while driving. Everyone knows its illegal and dangerous yet they still do it. it's not like hand free car kits are for the super rich, you can get them built into cheap cars. The other alternative is to put the phone in a cradle and use Siri or Google to do the dialling for you. There really is no excuse nowadays.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:20 AM 3

8. Rigmaster

Posts: 234; Member since: Jan 22, 2018

Yes, it's sad. It's sad because it's dangerous and deadly - fatality in my town recently. Pulling over to take a call or waiting until a stoplight can always be done.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:37 AM 1

9. Rigmaster

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 10:37 AM 0

11. tedkord

"More than 100 tickets per day," was the purpose of the law. Revenue.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 1:25 PM 1

19. RebelwithoutaClue unregistered

If you would have read the original article, none of the tickets was a fine, just warnings.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 4:04 PM 0

14. Nine1Sickness

Even the Police officer that just gave you the ticket used his phone to call his baby mama on his way home from work.

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 2:21 PM 0

15. Fellwalker

Posts: 538; Member since: Apr 04, 2014

Far too many tv series show the hero of the show (including police, sheriffs and FBI agents) holding their phone and talking whole driving. Even dialling rather than using voice call. No surprise that ordinary people do so as well. Some states haven't yet banned use!

posted on Jul 16, 2018, 3:01 PM 0

16. japkoslav

Posts: 1517; Member since: Feb 19, 2017

TV series show something = people do it ... Oh my memmory is probably a bit blurry as a result of those masacres when Doom came out in 1994. People that use a phone while driving are idiots, there is no magic conspiracy behind it.