Drivers are looking at their phones instead of the road in higher shares than ever during the pandemic, according to a recent report.
Driving analytics company Zendrive has released a new collision report that quantifies the effects of distracted driving on traffic safety, showing a large proportion of drivers looking at their phones instead of the road—a trend that has only worsened since the outset of the pandemic.
Lynn Walford shares insights from the new report, noting the headline finding near the top: distracted driving now contributes to 57 percent of all traffic collisions.
Tge latest data shows increasingly reckless driver behavior. "Compared to January of this year, phone use frequency is 17% higher in November 2020, while rapid accelerations are up 36%," writes Walford. These kinds of driving prctices have tragic results. "According to AAA, phone distraction alone can increase the risk of collision by up to 83%. With pedestrian fatalities at their highest levels in decades, these new findings highlight a significant danger to public health."
The data from the Zendive report backs up previous reports about increasing traffic fatalities on U.S. roads during the pandemic. The Zendive report also includes a number of useful infographics to help illustrate the scale of the public health risk posed by distracted driving.
FULL STORY: Phone Distraction & Dangerous Distractions Worst Since Pandemic
IIHS: Drivers Using ‘Autonomous’ Features More Likely to Be Distracted
Despite warnings that drivers should remain attentive, people behind the wheel of cars equipped with ‘autonomous’ assistance often take their eyes off the road.
Let’s End Traffic Stops
The technology to make traffic enforcement obsolete is becoming available. But in the U.S. willing to use it?
Traffic Fatalities Set Records as Pandemic-Era Road Carnage Shows No Signs of Stopping
An estimated 42,915 people died in automobile crashes in 2021, according to recent federal data. The increasing fatalities continue a trend that began with the outset of the pandemic.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service