Distracted Driving
Distracted Driving Overview
With the rapid insurgence of technology in today’s world, distracted driving has swelled into a national epidemic over the past decade. The use of cell phones among all drivers is at the heart of this issue. 
That is why ICJI's Traffic Safety division and the Governor’s Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving encourages all drivers to drive cautiously, adhere to posted speed limits and other roadway signs, wear their seat belts at all times, limit the number of passengers in their vehicle, and refrain from using mobile and/or electronic devices that may cause them to become distracted.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is any non-driving activity in which a person engages that has the potential to distract them from the
primary task of driving and increases their risk of crashing.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety noted that drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
Even more alarming, a study from the University of Utah found that using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent!
Types of Distracted Driving
Texting while driving involves three types of distraction:
- Visual - taking your eyes off the road.
- Manual - taking your hands off the wheel.
- Cognitive - taking your mind off what you're doing.
Cell phone use and texting are two of the most prevalent and most dangerous examples of distracted driving. The National Safety Council estimates that at least 28 percent of motor vehicle crashes in 2008 – 1.6 million accidents – were due to cell phone use and texting.
Research shows that there is no significant difference between hand-held cell phone use and hands-free cell phone use – both are dangerous because of the cognitive distraction the driver experiences, and the other member of the conversation cannot catch what the distracted driver misses.
Distracted driving can be difficult to detect when an officer arrives at a crash scene and completes the report based on driver testimony. For this reason, distracted driving may be drastically under-reported; but is obviously very dangerous and therefore remains a hot topic in traffic safety.
All forms of cell phone use are dangerous, but texting while driving is the easiest target. Texting and e-mailing pulls a driver’s eyes, hands and mind away from driving.
Distracted Driving Data
Research on distracted driving reveals some surprising and disturbing facts. According to a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon, driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
According to NHTSA, 5,454 people were killed and an estimated 448,000 people were injured due to distracted driving in 2009. Distracted driving actions were a contributing factor in 17 percent of all traffic collisions nationwide in 2009. In Indiana, it was a factor in over 300 crashes resulting in fatalities and injuries.
During daylight hours, an estimated 11 percent of vehicles on U.S. roadways – one in 10 – have a driver who is using a phone. In fact, the proportion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of a fatal crash has increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009. (Source: NHTSA)
Research has also shown that when drivers turn off their cell phones, they are four times less likely to get into accidents serious enough to cause harm. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
Distracted Driving & Indiana Law
Texting Ban -- IC 9-21-8-59
A person may not use a telecommunications device to: type a text message or an electronic mail message; transmit a text message or an electronic mail message; or read a text message or an electronic mail message while operating a moving motor vehicle unless the device is used in conjunction with hands free or voice operated technology, or unless the device is used to call 911 to report a bona fide emergency.
Young Drivers
According to NHTSA, the worst offenders of distracted driving are men and women under 20 years of age. But while it is important to educate young drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, it is equally important to reach out to adults who routinely use their cell phones in their cars. 
During 2009, distracted driving was a contributing factor for 2,550 traffic collisions involving a young driver in Indiana.
Research on young drivers has shown that teens that drive with even one passenger in the vehicle are twice as likely to be in a fatal crash.
These alarming figures compelled lawmakers to push for legislation that would promote safer driving habits among newly licensed drivers.
As a result, on July 1, 2009, the first phase of Indiana’s Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) law went into effect. Part of this law prohibits newly licensed drivers under the age of 18 from using telecommunications devices {i.e. cell phones to talk and text} while driving, with the exception of making emergency 911 calls.
Other restrictions covered under this law prohibit those under the age of 18 from transporting passengers in the vehicle for the first 180 days after obtaining their probationary license.
That is, drivers under 18 may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday. {Note: After the 180 day probationary period, the new law does not dictate the number of passengers a young driver can transport.}
The second phase of Indiana’s GDL law mandates the age a driver can obtain a learner’s permit is 15 with Driver’s Education and 16 without Driver’s Education. A driver can obtain a probationary license at 16 years 180 days if they had Driver’s Education and at 16 years 270 days without Driver’s Education.
Of course there are exceptions to all of these rules, but the idea is to establish a set of parameters that deter distracted driving behaviors and to convince young and newly licensed drivers that not paying attention to the road at all times can result in tragic outcomes.
Heads Up! Phones Down!
Clearly, talking or texting while driving has deadly consequences everyday on American roadways. That’s why ICJI is working to change cell phone behavior among Indiana residents and ultimately prevent more senseless tragedies from happening here in the Hoosier state.
Not wearing seatbelts, not putting kids in the back seat, and driving drunk were all risky and dangerous behaviors that resulted in countless injuries and deaths, but America has stepped up to change the mindset of those who believe these types of behaviors are acceptable.
It is our hope that by raising awareness, we can change behavior, and make the use of cell phones in cars equally taboo among drivers.
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