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Distracted driving, especially among Gen Z, a nationwide issue

On Behalf of | Apr 22, 2019 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |

Root Insurance has recently released the results of its second annual distracted driving study. In it, 47% of respondents said that distracted driving is their top concern on the road. Nearly all participants placed phone use among the top three distractions. Yet it appears that many drivers throughout Virginia and across the U.S engage in distracting behavior even though they know it is wrong. Moreover, they criticize others for the same behavior they themselves exhibit.

In the study, motorists admitted to using their cellphones for an average of 13 minutes a day. For 38%, the presence of law enforcement does not induce them to put down their cellphones. The top phone-related distractions were group chats (52%), followed by social media such as memes and newsfeeds (33%) and video streaming (18%).

Distractions not related to phones were also numerous. While 18% admitted to grooming behind the wheel (putting on makeup, shaving etc.), 12% admitted to changing their clothes. Despite the frequency of this bad driving behavior, 89% of respondents said they would give bad ratings to Uber/Lyft drivers who text and drive.

Generation Z drivers are a unique concern. According to Root Insurance’s 2019 Focused Driving Report, they use their cellphones 20 times per 100 miles driven. Root Insurance believes that giving insurance discounts to those who avoid phone distractions is one viable solution.

When distraction is to blame for a motor vehicle accident, a crash victim might want to take legal action. Virginia being a pure contributory negligence state, those who are even 1% to blame are barred from recovery. Therefore, it may be wise to have a lawyer evaluate the case before moving forward with a claim. The lawyer could bring in third parties such as crash investigators to help develop the case.