A recent study of teen drivers shows that, on average, 21% of their driving time is spent looking at their cellphone, and 26.5% of those glances last at least two seconds.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham health system surveyed more than 1,100 high school students with a driver’s license and interviewed an additional 20 to gauge “perceived social norms” for behaviors such as distracted driving.
“Driving distracted doesn’t just put the driver at risk of injury or death, it puts everyone else on the road in danger of an accident,” said lead study author Rebecca Robbins, from the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She added that the findings can be used to help create effective interventions to prevent distracted driving.
“Encouraging the use of ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, keeping phones out of reach and ensuring teens get adequate sleep are effective strategies to mitigate this dangerous behavior,” Robbins said.
The study was published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
DriveitHOME, a program of the National Safety Council in partnership with GM, offers “simple, easy-to-use resources designed to build your teen’s skills in a variety of driving situations.”
