Cellphone Use Ahead of Auto Crashes — IIHS Says Police are Undercounting the Number

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is concerned about how police report cellphone use before an auto crash. The institute claims more drivers are using them before the collision than police are noting in crash reports.

By analyzing telematics data from driver-enrolled-safe-driving-apps, the IIHS found the number of cellphones being used prior to a crash is undercounted by a factor of seven.

In 7% of the single-auto crashes, data shows drivers on a phone 30-second ahead of a crash. Two vehicle crash data shows phone operation in the last 30-seconds by one or both of the drivers by 8%.

IIHS President David Harkey said police reports have the number for both at 1%.

"It's widely accepted that police reports often fail to capture the role of cellphones in crashes,” Harkey said. "Many smartphone functions are hard for a witness to see, and drivers are reluctant to admit being distracted. Telematics are allowing us to understand the true magnitude of the problem.”

The data comes from safe-driving apps in four states from 2021 to 2024 and covers 17,000 auto crashes. It found drivers were often manipulating their phones in conversation, tapping out a message or looking for something.

By the way, in a different study, the IIHS found 25% of drivers said in the last 30-days they’d watched a video on their phone while driving.

Source link: PropertyCasualty360.com — https://bit.ly/4cvNEuH