distracted driving essay

117 Distracted Driving Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best distracted driving topic ideas & essay examples, 🎓 good research topics about distracted driving, 💡 most interesting distracted driving topics to write about, ⭐ simple & easy distracted driving essay titles, ❓ questions about distracted driving.

• Texting While Driving Should Be Illegal To begin with, it has been observed from recent studies that have been conducted that majority of American citizens are in complete agreement that texting while one is driving should be banned as it is […]
• Banning Phone Use While Driving Will Save Lives For instance, a driver may receive a phone call or make one, and while tending to the call, takes his mind of the road and increasing the chances of causing an accident. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Drinking and Driving: The Negative Effects The combination of drinking and driving is dangerous and characterized by such effects as physiological changes, problems with the law, and innocent victims. One of the main effects of drinking and driving is the increase […]
• Age Limitation on Driving Privileges Thus, the increase in the level of accidents has forced the state to consider whether age is among the factors that have led to the increase in cases accidents.
• Road Rage and the Possibilities of Slow Driving There is also a need for people to plan their daily activities early and give some time allowance to the expected driving time.
• Dangers of Texting while Driving The research paper will present some statistics to prove that texting while driving is one of the biggest contributors of road accidents in American roads.
• Public Service Announcement and Distracted Driving To conclude, PSAs help to reduce the amount of distracted driving occurrences. As a result, public service announcements should be utilized to raise public awareness of the hazards of distracted driving and assist save lives.
• Driving in the Winter and in the Summer To conclude, winter and summer driving are comparable in practices of handling the vehicle but are associated with contrasting dangers. In the summer, the temperature is higher, leading to the expansion of tires, and there […]
• Safe Driving and Use of Cellphones in Cars In conclusion, it is recommended that all drivers have a cell phone in the car to assist with emergencies, navigation, and reporting crime.
• Substance Abuse and Driving Under Influence The list of felonies consists of possession of substances, possession of ammunition with marijuana and the distribution of substances. This way, a person would be able to enhance their well-being and the state of mental […]
• Dangerous Driving Case: Description, Investigation, Judicial Process, and Results The court maintained that the offense in the case was a statutory offense that implied the dangerous driving of the accused, whose eventuality resulted in the death of the woman victim.
• Anti-Drink Driving Intervention Plan Overall, the ultimate goal of this paper lies in identifying key tasks that would be undertaken at all stages of the social marketing intervention planning process and evaluating the potential success of the plan.
• Developing Strategic Plan for TLC Commission Future Self-Driving Cars A SWOT analysis of the issue would reveal that not many would trust the safety of self-driving cars. The research would be of much help as it would reveal that self-driving cars are not that […]
• Self-Driving Technologies and Supply Chain Management Due to the large-scale implementation of such technologies, the whole transportation system will be changed. Self-driving technologies can significantly improve the development of the transportation industry.
• Mobile Phone Use and Driving: Modelling Driver Distraction Effects Therefore, in order to increase attention during driving and improve the reaction to road events, it is advisable to prohibiting hand-held phone use while driving in all 50 states.
• Tougher Punishment for Texting While Driving However the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging reported that texting while driving is a greater distraction than talking to others due to the time eyes are away from the road and the amount of cognitive […]
• Persuading People Not to Text While Driving It is believed that the main reasons for the growing number of car accidents and deaths on the roads is the development of new technologies and, as a result, the irresponsible driving of individuals who […]
• The Use of Mobile Phone While Driving a Car The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of drivers’ use of mobile phones on the risk of a crash.
• Addressing a Problem of Elderly Driving The authors claim that there are two possible ways to address the issue of elderly driving: developing social programs and integrating modern technology. These actions will be beneficial to the safety of older individuals and […]
• Regulations on Multitasking While Driving Consequently, safe and effective driving is a task that demands concentration by the driver, and multi-tasking while driving should be discouraged and avoided for safety.
• Cell Phones While Driving: Is It Legal? The message conveyed over the phone takes priority and driving takes a back seat which inevitably results in an accident, the severity of the same depends on more factors than one, the most important of […]
• Local Crisis: Teenage Driving Fatalities in Alabama It was reported in the reader’s digest of the 2008 August edition that out of 50 states, Alabama had the 4th highest rate of deaths at 39.
• Cause and Effect of Teenagers Crazy Driving They have to acknowledge that they are the childhood role model for the kids and this includes being the indirect driving teacher of the child.
• Cell Phone Use and Driving: Mian vs. City of Ottawa However, the judge considers the disclosure of the disciplinary records to be irrelevant to the case. However, the Crown specifically stated that the disclosure of these records is not relevant to the case without O’Connor’s […]
• Cell Phone Use While Driving: Policy Analysis Therefore, in a public policy debate, proponents of regulation would argue that per capita healthcare savings and resulting QALY measures are significant enough to justify a ban on the use of private cellphones in driving […]
• Safe Driving Among American Youth as Health Issue It reviews the organization’s perspective on the issue and the strategies it proposes to reduce the risks of car accidents. The paper concentrates on safe driving for young people, summarizing the National Safety Council’s position […]
• Cell Phone Use in Driving and Recommended Policies Auditory, when on phone, drivers shift their focus to the sound of the phone instead of listening to the adjoining atmosphere on the road.
• Outcomes of the Phone Usage While Driving To the end of their lives, neither the victims’ loved ones nor the driver will be able to cope with the tragedy that resulted. The assertion that driving and texting or talking on the phone […]
• Driving Under the Influence: US Policies Driving under the influence is known to be one of the most threatening tendencies in the world of nowadays. One of the most common policies provided in order to decrease the risk of drunken driving […]
• Impacts of Texting While Driving on the Accidents The development of technologies used by adolescents for texting while driving leads to increasing the rates of accidents. Hypothesis: The development of technologies used by adolescents for texting while driving leads to increasing the rates […]
• The New Application “Stop Texting and Driving App” The application installed in the driver’s smartphone will disable every function when the vehicle is in motion. The device and the application have more features in order to reduce the rate of having an accident.
• Technology Development and Texting while Driving Working thesis: Although certain modern gadgets can be used to avoid texting while driving, the development of the sphere of mobile technologies has the negative impact on the dangerous trend of messaging while driving a […]
• Distracted Driving Behaviors in Adults The article notes that the results of the study highlighted the dangers of DDB other than texting and using cell phones.
• The South Dakota Legislature on Texting and Driving According to the authors of the article, the South Dakota Legislature needs to acknowledge the perils of texting and driving and place a ban on the practice.
• Injury Prevention Intervention: Driving Injury in Young People According to Gielen and Sleet study, the trends indicate that despite the preventive measures, the likelihood for young people involved in injuries is increasing. The collective objectives are to reduce the probability of young people […]
• Effects of Ageing Population as Driving Force Positive effects Negative effects An increased aging population will lead to a bigger market for goods and services associated with the elderly.
• Cognitive Psychology on Driving and Phone Usage For this reason, it is quite difficult to multitask when the activities involved are driving and talking on the phone. Holding a phone when driving may cause the driver to use only one hand for […]
• Banning Texting while Driving Saves Lives Other nations have limited use of phones, by teenagers, when driving, and a rising number of states and governments have prohibited the exact practice of texting while driving.
• Saving Lives: On the Ban of Texting While Driving To achieve the goals of the objectives proposed above, a comprehensive case study needs to be conducted on the risks of texting while driving and how the prohibition of the act will save lives.
• A Theoretical Analysis of the Act of Cell Phone Texting While Driving The past decade has seen the cell phone become the most common communication gadget in the world, and the US has one of the highest rates of cell phone use.
• Drivers of Automobiles Should Be Prohibited From Using Cellular Phones While Driving When a driver is utilizing a hand-held or hands-free cellular phone at the same time as driving, she or he should dedicate part of their concentration to operating the handset and sustaining the phone discussion […]
• Should People Be Banned From Using Cell Phones When Driving? Why or Why Not? Many people have blamed the cell phones to the current high increases in the number of road accidents witnessed worldwide, while others argue that the use of mobile phones while driving is not wholly to […]
• Problem of the Elderly Driving in the US When comparing the survey results to accumulated scientific data as well as statistics on the number of vehicular accidents involving the elderly it can be seen that the respondents were unaware of the potential danger […]
• The Dangers of Using Cell Phone While Driving The authors further note the subsequent increase in the count of persons conversing on cell phones while driving unaware of the risks they pose to themselves and their passengers.
• An Analysis of the Use of Cell Phones While Driving The first theory is the theory of mass society, and the second theory is the theory of the culture industry. The theory of mass society states that, popular culture is an intrinsic expression of the […]
• Popular Culture: The Use of Phones and Texting While Driving Given that rituals and stereotypes are a part of beliefs, values, and norms that society holds at a given instance of history, the use of phones in texting while driving has rituals and stereotypes associated […]
• The Use of the Cell Phone While Driving Indeed, many of the culprits of this dangerous practice are teens and the youth, ordinarily the most ardent expressers of popular culture in a society.
• Theta and Alpha Oscillations in Attentional Interaction During Distracted Driving
• Car Accidents and Distracted Driving
• The Pros and Cons of Distracted Driving
• Societal Crisis and Distracted Driving
• Texting and Driving Accident Statistics – Distracted Driving
• Major Safety Issue: Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving Should Not Be Banned
• Making Laws Against Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving Regulation and Education
• Prevent Distracted Driving
• The Problem Distracted Driving Creates
• Distracted Driving and Highway Fatalities
• Cell Phones and the Dangers of Distracted Driving
• Texting and Driving: Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving: Increase in Cell Phone Related Fatalities
• Cause and Effect: Non-distracted Driving and Distracting Driving
• Distracted Driving Involving Cell Phones
• The Most Dangerous Type of Distracted Driving
• Accidents and Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving and Doing Another Activity
• The Primary Factors Contributing to the Problem of Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving Prevention: Texting or Handheld Cellphone Use While Driving
• Attention and Distracted Driving
• The Dangers of Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving and Its Effects on Safety
• Motor Vehicle Safety: Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving While Using Handheld Electronic Device
• Mobile Communication and Local Information Flow: Evidence From Distracted Driving Laws
• Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011
• Texting While Driving: The Development and Validation of the Distracted Driving Survey and Risk Score Among Young Adults
• Causes, Impacts and Prevention Strategies of Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving: The Danger of the Technological Age
• Distracted Driving: How Badly Does Cell Phone Use Affect Drivers
• Opposing Perspectives and Solutions of Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving: The Preventable Killer
• The Facts About Distracted Driving
• Distracted Driving Bans Should Be Stronger
• The Cautionary Measures Against Distracted Driving Proposed by the State
• Distracted Driving and Dangerous Being Distracted While Driving
• What Are the Causes of Distracted Driving?
• What Is the Harm of Mobile Phones in Distracted Driving?
• What Are the Consequences of Distracted Driving?
• Should Distracted Driving Bans Be Stronger?
• What Are the Strategies to Prevent Distracted Driving?
• What Is the Act to Prevent Distracted Driving?
• How to Regulate Distracted Driving?
• Are Distracted Driving Fatalities Increasing?
• What Are Two Major Issues That Can Cause Distracted Driving?
• How Are Distracted Driving Laws Made?
• What Are the State Proposed Distracted Driving Precautions?
• What Is the Most Dangerous Type of Distracted Driving?
• What Are the Main Contributing Factors to the Problem of Distracted Driving?
• Why Has Distracted Driving Become a Societal Crisis?
• What Are Signs of a Distracted Driver?
• What Is an Example of a Mental Distraction Driving?
• What Types of Drivers Are More Susceptible to Distractions?
• Distracted Driving: How to Drive Safely?
• Does Distracted Driving Threaten the Safety of Not Only the Driver?
• How Many Accidents Are Caused by Distracted Driving?
• How to Learn Not to Be Distracted From Driving?
• What Issues Are Discussed at the Distracted Driving Summit?
• How Does Media Influence Distracted Driving?
• What Are the Opposing Views and Solutions to Distracted Driving?
• What Age Group Drives Distracted the Most?
• What Is the Most Dangerous Kind of Distracted Driving?
• How Many Highway Collisions Are Caused by Distracted Drivers?
• Can Fear Behind the Wheel Distract From Driving?
• How Many Americans Have Died From Distracted Driving?
• What Are Theta and Alpha Oscillations in the Interaction of Attention During Distracted Driving?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 26). 117 Distracted Driving Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/distracted-driving-essay-topics/

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Risky Driving

Distracted driving.

• Drowsy Driving
• Drug-Impaired Driving
• Drunk Driving

Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,308 lives in 2022. NHTSA leads the national effort to save lives by preventing this dangerous behavior. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America’s roads safe.

Put the Phone Away or Pay

What is distracted driving, consequences, get involved.

• NHTSA In Action
• Take the Pledge

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS & DATA PUBLICATIONS

Using a cell phone while driving creates enormous potential for deaths and injuries on U.S. roads. In 2022, 3,308 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

Related Topic

We can all play a part in the fight to save lives by ending distracted driving.

Teens can be the best messengers with their peers, so we encourage them to speak up when they see a friend driving while distracted, to have their friends sign a pledge to never drive distracted, to become involved in their local Students Against Destructive Decisions chapter, and to share messages on social media that remind their friends, family, and neighbors not to make the deadly choice to drive distracted.

Parents first have to lead by example — by never driving distracted — as well as have a talk with their young driver about distraction and all of the responsibilities that come with driving. Have everyone in the family sign the pledge to commit to distraction-free driving. Remind your teen driver that in states with graduated driver licensing (GDL), a violation of distracted-driving laws could mean a delayed or suspended license.

Educators and Employers

Educators and employers can play a part, too. Spread the word at your school or workplace about the dangers of distracted driving. Ask your students to commit to distraction-free driving or set a company policy on distracted driving.

Make Your Voice Heard

If you feel strongly about distracted driving, be a voice in your community by supporting local laws, speaking out at community meetings, and highlighting the dangers of distracted driving on social media and in your local op-ed pages. 

NHTSA is dedicated to eliminating risky behaviors on our nation's roads

Nhtsa is dedicated to eliminating risky behaviors on our nation's roads.

NHTSA leads the fight nationally against distracted driving by educating Americans about its dangers and partnering with the states and local police to enforce laws against distracted driving that help keep us safe.

NHTSA’s campaigns and public service announcements make the case to Americans that safe driving means driving without distractions. You’ve likely seen or heard our public service announcements, but we’re also on Facebook and Twitter sharing stories and tips to help save lives.

The foundation of NHTSA’s efforts on distracted driving and other risky driving behaviors is our partnership with the states and local police. The states determine laws affecting distracted driving, but NHTSA provides federal investments in the locally driven strategies that address the states’ specific needs. One of the highlights of this relationship comes during April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which pairs a national advertising campaign with a law enforcement crackdown called Put the Phone Away or Pay.

Your state legislature and governor make the laws regarding distracted driving. Many states now have laws against texting, talking on a cell phone, and other distractions while driving. You can visit the Governors Highway Safety Association  to learn about the laws in your state.

The fight to end distracted driving starts with you. Make the commitment to drive phone-free today.

• Protect lives by never texting or talking on the phone while driving.
• Be a good passenger and speak out if the driver in my car is distracted.
• Encourage my friends and family to drive phone-free.

Search for more resources

Explore other topics in risky driving.

July 28, 2023

Distracted Driving Is More Dangerous Than People Realize, New Research Shows

Multitasking can occupy attention longer than people anticipate  

By Tatiana Koerich Rondon & David Z. Hambrick

skaman306/Getty Images

In 2021 more than 3,500 drivers in the U.S. alone died in traffic accidents linked to distracted driving . Using a cell phone is the primary source of distraction , but entering navigational information, trying to eat and performing other such activities can be just as risky. A new study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied suggests that distracted driving is even more unsafe than previously thought .

Multitasking has a hidden cost for drivers that past analyses have not taken into account. In two experiments, participants between the ages of 18 and 58 completed a driving-related activity while also performing a distracting task. Cognitive psychologists led by David Strayer of the University of Utah found that distraction depleted participants’ ability to pay attention to their driving for at least half a minute after the distraction ended . That extended effect implies that the number of traffic accidents caused by distracted driving could be substantially higher than current estimates indicate.

[ Read more about how the brain works to suppress distractions ]

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In the first experiment, 32 participants began with a “baseline” phase, during which the researchers asked them to use a steering wheel to position a triangle over a dot that was moving horizontally across a computer screen. This simple activity captured a key aspect of driving, steering, while keeping participants in a safe laboratory environment. Simultaneously, people had to press a button on the steering wheel with their left forefinger each time a small device attached to their left collarbone vibrated. This extra step measured how much attention participants devoted to the primary activity, driving, as opposed to the secondary activity. Those who responded relatively slowly to the vibrations were assumed to be paying more attention to tracking the dot on the screen.

After three minutes in this baseline condition, participants transitioned to an “on-task” phase. During this period, they experienced a distraction designed to simulate the attention-demanding tasks that occur when people are keeping up a cell phone conversation or sending a text while driving. The “drivers” were presented witha random number and had to count aloud backward by either ones or threes. After 20 seconds of this challenging phase, there was a 30-second recovery period in which the backward counting task stopped, and participants only performed the driving and vibration-response activity.

Compared with baseline, the distracting on-task phase did not appear to affect the participants’ performance in tracking the moving dot—but they were slower and less accurate in their response to the vibrations. This finding indicates that more of the participants’ attention was occupied when they were trying to drive and count at the same time. More surprisingly, their performance remained impaired in the recovery period, too. In other words, even though they were no longer multitasking, people were still slower and less accurate in responding to the vibrations than in the baseline phase. This residual effect of multitasking was largest at the beginning of the recovery phase but still evident at the end of the 30 seconds .

A second experiment involving 47 participants had essentially the same design as the first, except that the primary task involved a realistic driving simulator. This approach gave the researchers a chance to observe responses in more true-to-life scenarios, including driving in light and heavy traffic. In addition, the researchers used special equipment to observe their participants’ eyes. When people are cognitively busy, their pupils expand, giving researchers an indicator of attentional engagement.

Once again, the distraction involved a backward-counting task, followed by a recovery period, now extended to 45 seconds. Just as in the first experiment, the researchers found that people performed worse throughout the recovery period than in the baseline phase. The driving task was especially difficult when the simulator put drivers in heavy traffic. For example, participants had more difficulty staying centered in their lane in the challenging driving simulator. Their pupils also dilated significantly during the distracting counting task and remained so throughout most of the recovery period. In fact, participants in the most challenging simulation showed dilation throughout the 45-second period. These findings provide additional evidence for the residual effect of multitasking.

What might explain these findings? When a person performs a cognitive task, they hold information from that task in their working memory: a “mental workspace” where details can be both stored and processed. Your working memory helps you with tasks such as doing arithmetic in your head and remembering the name of someone you’ve just met. Strayer and his colleagues propose that when a task is completed, this information isn’t purged from your working memory all at once. Rather it persists for some time, creating mental clutter that may divert attention away from subsequent tasks.

This work complements a large body of evidence that shows people tend to be bad at multitasking . (In fact, people are generally worse at juggling tasks simultaneously than they believe themselves to be.) If you’ve ever been working and gotten distracted by an incoming e-mail, you may have felt a “mental fog” when you switched back to your earlier task. That experience could have occurred because your mind was still holding details from reading your inbox even as you got back to work.

The findings also mean that drivers likely underestimate the true danger of distraction. If you send a text while driving, even though you may not miss your exit (or worse), you will be at a heightened risk of doing so down the road. Similarly, sending an e-mail while sitting at a traffic light means that once the light turns green, your mind will still be occupied by that message.

The new research highlights the need to strengthen laws that curb distracted driving. Legislation should define this concept broadly enough to include not only cell phone use but also other activities that can divert a driver’s attention away from the road. Of course, not all distractions come from technology, which is why all passengers should be aware of how hazardous distracting the person at the wheel can be. Parents, for instance, can set ground rules for kids in the car.

Finally, the findings point to a simple step that all drivers can take to make the roads safer. The next time you get behind the wheel, minimize the distraction you will experience by putting your cell phone in airplane mode, entering navigation information and finishing your lunch before you start the engine.

Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about for Mind Matters? Please send suggestions to  Scientific American’s  Mind Matters editor Daisy Yuhas at  [email protected] .

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

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The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

Car-crash fatalities are on the rise. whatever the solution, the time for action is now., sharing is nice.

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Five-year-old Moriah Modisette died one Christmas Eve after a distracted driver plowed into the back of her family's car on a Texas highway, according to police reports.

Garrett Wilhelm, 20 at the time, was accused of video chatting on his smartphone when traffic ahead of him slowed. The police say he didn't notice and slammed into the Modisettes' car at full speed. The force of the collision caused the car to spin, coming to rest facing the wrong direction in traffic.

The little girl was airlifted to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, says the police report of the 2014 incident. Her older sister, Isabella, 8, who was sitting next to her in the backseat, survived, as did her mother, Bethany, who was in the front passenger seat of the Toyota Camry. Moriah's father, James, in the driver's seat, was knocked unconscious and spared seeing the events that led to his daughter's death.

Wilhelm has a manslaughter charge pending against him because of the crash, in which his Toyota 4Runner landed in the highway median. A police officer found the video call still running on Wilhelm's iPhone.

The Modisettes didn't want to be interviewed for this article, but Greg Love, a lawyer for the family, spoke with CR. "Bethany and Moriah's older sister, Isabella, were conscious and perceived everything that happened inside that car," he said. Love also pointed out that at the time of the accident, there was no state ban in Texas on texting while driving. In May 2017 the first statewide distracted-driving law in the state was passed, and it took effect in September. It prohibits all texting and "electronic messaging" while driving.

Read  How Distracted Are We? ,  Is There a Law for That? ,  How to Protect Yourself , and  Protections We Want for You  for more information.

Dangerous Choices

The latest statistics show that America's traffic deaths are rising. There are many reasons, including the fact that we're driving more miles. But some experts say that the marriage of automobiles and smartphones (with their growing menu of apps) is contributing to the danger, even for pedestrians and cyclists. Despite a decade of new laws and enforcement, and a flurry of public-safety campaigns, surveys have found that drivers still make the dangerous choice to text and drive or use their smartphones in other distracting ways.

Indeed, a nationally representative survey by Consumer Reports in October 2017 found that 41 percent of drivers with smartphones said they had used their hands to text while driving, and 8 percent admitted to watching a video on their phone while driving.

The Modisettes sued Apple, accusing the company of being at fault because it hadn't sufficiently warned people not to use its FaceTime app while driving. (The app allows video-to-video communication with another person also on an Apple smart device.) A judge threw out the case in May, ruling that the user of a smartphone is responsible for unsafe behavior, not the manufacturer. The case is on appeal.

Traffic fatalities on U.S. roads in 2016 increased to 37,461 , according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That's a 5.6 percent increase over 2015, after an 8.4 percent increase in 2014.

In 2016, 3,450 people were killed because of distracted driving, a 2.2 percent decline from 2015. Still, the number of distraction-related fatalities reported in 2016 was higher than in 2011. According to NHTSA, fatal distracted-driving crashes specifically involving cell-phone use increased to 14 percent (442) in 2015 from 12 percent (354) in 2011. And the percentage of distracted-driving-related crashes resulting in injuries that were linked to cell phones increased to 8 percent (21,000) in 2015 from 6 percent (15,000) in 2011. (A breakdown from NHTSA for 2016 isn't available yet.) Even these numbers don't fully reflect the potential scope of danger, safety advocates and the police say, because of the limits of law enforcement and the lack of adequate evidence proving that smartphone use or other distractions were the root cause of some crashes.

Distracted driving has also involved in-car infotainment systems and lower-tech driver activity, such as adjusting a radio or temperature control, talking to a passenger, or taking eyes off the road for any reason.

The automotive and tech industries are using technology designed to mitigate distracted-driving dangers. Many new vehicles have advanced safety features (often optional) such as automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist, which are recognized for their potential to help protect drivers and passengers.

Major smartphone manufacturers, wireless providers, and smaller tech companies have created various apps and services to prevent teens and adults from using smartphones while driving. But at the moment, the adoption and use of them rely largely on users choosing to opt in.

And until cars become fully autonomous, dangers will persist from those who choose to use smartphones while driving or become distracted by onboard infotainment systems.

"Unfortunately, in the short term, we actually could see greater risks because we will have a mix of autonomous, semi-autonomous, and manually driven cars," says Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "The transition is going to be a little bit of a messy middle."

The Rise of Connected Cars

General Motors first introduced its OnStar in-car connectivity in 1996. And the company claims it became the first automaker to introduce 4G LTE wireless across its entire retail platform in 2014. Since then, Chevrolet has sold nearly 2.5 million 4G OnStar LTE-connected vehicles.

These cellular connections power onboard WiFi hot spots that can be used by up to seven digital devices in a single vehicle.

Carmakers are adding high-speed internet connections and designing more sophisticated interfaces to serve customer demand for constant connectivity. But they're also working closely with Silicon Valley to integrate smartphones more deeply into the driving experience. Almost every automaker is now building Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support into new vehicles. These systems serve up a simplified smartphone-style interface on a dashboard screen, giving drivers the apps, controls, and voice assistants they're already familiar with.

Automakers say they're doing their best to balance the desire for technology with safe design. A Ford spokeswoman said in an email response to questions that it has "prioritized voice recognition as the interface for smartphone control while driving," because research "indicates that helping drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road is the most important factor in minimizing distractions."

A Toyota spokesman said in an email that customers want the company to "evolve and keep up with the latest" technology. He added that Toyota considers driver distraction during product development: "As part of our basic design processes, Toyota considers how all the systems we integrate into our vehicles will be used in the driving environment, with the goals of helping to optimize interactions with the driver while avoiding distractions."

At GM, as each infotainment feature is developed, engineers test and measure driver attention using a simulator, says Mike Hichme, the company's executive director of user experience. "We measure their eye movements," he explains. "They can't have glances of longer than 2 seconds away from the road for any one task."

If the test shows that a driver is confused by touch-screen controls or voice commands, the function is locked out after a certain period. Streaming video, game apps, web browsing, and social media messaging are prohibited on the touch screen, Hichme says.

The Human Toll

In September 2016, Mitchel Kiefer, an 18-year-old freshman at Michigan State University, died on a highway after an inattentive driver slammed into his car when traffic slowed. According to the police reports, the force of the collision pushed Kiefer's vehicle across a median and into oncoming traffic. His was the only fatality in the multivehicle wreck.

Twenty-one-year-old Kelley Renee Lange of Kalamazoo eventually pleaded guilty to a moving violation, receiving probation, community service, and a fine. According to an Ingham County assistant prosecutor, information from the event data recorder, or black box, in Lange's 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix indicated she was traveling at 81 mph with the accelerator depressed at impact. The prosecutor says the data suggested Lange may have been distracted. But because there was no evidence of her texting or using her phone at the time of the incident, prosecutors didn't have probable cause to secure a search warrant for her phone. It's unclear why she failed to slow down. Her lawyer didn't respond to requests for an interview.

It can be difficult to assess the true impact of driver distraction. Black-box data can provide clues, but it's rare for a witness or law-enforcement officer to directly see what's going on inside a vehicle. Even when there's evidence of distraction, it's not always documented. In a 2017 report, "Undercounted Is Underinvested: How Incomplete Crash Reports Impact Efforts to Save Lives," the National Safety Council found that many state crash-report forms don't have a field or code for many forms of distraction.

Kiefer's parents, Steve and Paula, his two sisters, and his brother decided to establish the Mitchel Kiefer Foundation, which is dedicated to battling driver distraction. The family works to get out the message that no one should text and drive or look away from the road for too long.

"What I've always said to the kids is that you can let a tragic event in your life basically destroy your life or you can use it to repurpose your life," Steve Kiefer says in a video. "We've all agreed we're going to try and use it to repurpose our lives and make something good of it, and hopefully save some other lives."

Kiefer speaks to groups about his son and the dangers of distraction. It helps that he's a senior vice president at General Motors, which lends credibility to the foundation's mission.

High-Tech Solutions

Some in the telecommunications industry have been addressing the issue of driver distraction. A range of small tech companies offer apps that can block text messages, email, social media sites, and even phone calls while drivers are underway.

Joe Breaux, chief technology officer of CellControl, which offers a combination of hardware and software that can block and monitor smartphone use inside a car, says his company follows the development guidelines of major smartphone manufacturers. "In many ways, they're partners, but what they're providing is different from what we're providing," he explains. "They are providing connectivity. The last thing they want to do is limit the use of their products or services."

Major wireless providers such as AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon also offer apps that can block text messages. This type of technology is often aimed at parents of teen drivers and employers.

Smartphone manufacturers are also using technology to address the problem. Samsung has an app called In-Traffic Reply that sends preset responses to messages received while the user is in motion. Apple's new iOS 11 system, introduced last fall, includes an optional Do Not Disturb While Driving feature that mutes incoming phone calls and text messages. There's an option to automatically send a message that you're driving and will respond later.

But none of this technology can stop a driver who doesn't want to use it. "All these systems are voluntary," says David Greenfield, founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction in West Hartford, Conn., and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. "Ultimately, if it's voluntary it's not going to be useful. I want the phone completely disabled. I don't trust myself to not use it, and nobody else should either."

Greenfield stresses that smartphones can be habit-forming. "The addictive nature of the phone does not stop when we enter the vehicle," he says. "The more complex cars have become, the greater the distraction becomes."

In July 2017 Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York directed his Traffic Safety Committee to examine the viability of the "textalyzer," technology that can determine whether a cell phone was used right before a crash.

In 2012 NHTSA started rolling out its recommended guidelines aimed at reducing driver distraction. The first phase offered guidelines for automakers to design infotainment systems that minimize distraction, such as limiting the time a driver has to look away from the road.

The next phase, introduced in 2016, encouraged smartphone manufacturers to design features such as pairing and driver mode that can link phones to a vehicle's infotainment system. NHTSA's next phase is to address voice-activated controls and potential ways to reduce cognitive distraction, when a driver's mind is distracted from focusing on the road.

Some people hope that fully autonomous vehicles will solve the problem one day. But 3,400 people dying every year from distracted driving is too high a price to wait for better technology.

Who's Responsible?

Several product liability lawsuits aimed at Apple have resulted in rulings that the company wasn't to blame for unsafe driver behavior. At least two focused on Apple's patent for technology that can "lock out" or prevent the operation of smartphone functions while the user is driving. In one complaint, the family of three crash victims claimed that Apple's failure to develop the lockout idea was proof the company ignored the dangers of distracted driving and was liable.

According to that lawsuit, Ashley Kubiak was heading down a Texas highway in a Dodge Ram pickup as she allegedly checked messages on her iPhone. She rear-ended a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, forcing it across the lane, where it was struck by a Ford F-250 pickup traveling in the opposite direction. The lawsuit said the accident killed the Tahoe driver and a passenger, and left a young child paralyzed. The court papers went on to say that Kubiak was convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

In August, U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III dismissed the case. The decisive passage from his ruling read: "When a driver negligently operates her vehicle because she is engaging in compulsive or addictive behaviors such as eating food, drinking alcohol, or smoking tobacco, it is the driver's negligence in engaging in those activities that causes any resulting injuries, not the cook's, distiller's, or tobacconist's supposed negligence in making their products so enticing."

In another case, Julio Ceja of Costa Mesa, Calif., filed a class-action complaint in California. Like the Texas case, it focused on Apple's failure to install a lockout device. When asked about the case, an Apple spokesman told CR: "We discourage anyone from allowing their iPhone to distract them by typing, reading, or interacting with the display while driving."

Facing the Human Factor

Hands-free phone operation is often touted by policymakers and others as the best available solution. Voice-activated infotainment, navigation, and other features are also widely available in later model vehicles.

Joel Feldman, a Philadelphia attorney whose 21-year-old daughter Casey was killed by a distracted driver in 2009, says he prefers that no one use a phone while driving. "But if I could snap my fingers today and compel that the only thing we could do with a phone in a car is talk hands-free, I'd take it in a second," he told CR. "I think about the people in these companies. Do they really want their children to use these products in this way?"

Still, David Strayer, a professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah, has researched hands-free systems and found they can be as dangerous as handheld smartphones because the brain can still be distracted from driving. He also says that some infotainment systems are more distracting than others, and supports clear regulatory guidelines.

"Texting and social media access are migrating to the car," Strayer says. "In some cases, in-vehicle systems are locking out social media for drivers and in others it is not. It's all over the map."

New laws, stepped-up enforcement, safety campaigns, and special apps might be making a gradual difference. But many safety advocates, including David Friedman of Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization division of Consumer Reports, think that progress has been mixed.

"Everyone needs to shift into a higher gear on the issue of driver distraction," Friedman says. "The Transportation Department should finalize distraction guidelines for devices such as smartphones, and the tech industry should support the DOT's efforts. Automakers and the government should accelerate the rollout of effective driver-monitoring systems of other technologies that can help ensure that drivers pay attention to the road."

Survey: How Distracted Are We?

Consumer Reports conducted a nationally representative phone survey to assess distracted-driver behavior and opinions about texting while driving. In the survey of 622 licensed drivers who own a smartphone, 52 percent admitted to engaging in distracting activities while driving.

What Are the Distractions? 41% use hands to send a text. 37% use hands to play music on a smartphone. 20% use hands to access a web browser or to compose, send, or read email. 8% watch videos on their phone while driving.

Who's the Most Distracted? Men are more likely than women to engage in distracting behavior; more than twice as many men watched a video. Millennials (18 to 36) and Gen Xers (37 to 52) were more likely than baby boomers to engage in distracting behavior.

When Is Texting Acceptable? 61% say only if they have a hands-free, voice-activated option. 34% say if it's an emergency. 24% say never.

Should Texting Be Prohibited? 88% say they favor states having restrictions on texting while driving.

Of those: 83% support a "total ban on texting while driving." 66% support a "requirement that all drivers use a message that automatically responds to incoming calls or texts." 36% support a "ban on texting while driving only for novice drivers." 30% support a "ban on incoming texts or calls if a smartphone is present in a moving car."

Who Should Do the Restricting? 100% support restrictions. 94% say the driver. 50% say the government.

How to Protect Yourself

Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR's Auto Test Center, offers these tips.

How to Protect Yourself From Yourself These common-sense habits should become as automatic as putting on your seat belt: • Once in your car, put your phone out of sight and out of reach so you're not tempted to use it. If you need to use a navigation app, use a dash mount so you don't have to take your hands off the steering wheel. • Take advantage of the in-car system if you have one. Most new cars offer voice commands for paired phones as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay interfaces that resemble your phone's screen. • Drop the earbuds. Some drivers use them to answer calls in cars that lack Bluetooth or for listening to music. That's not safe. • If you must regularly answer phone calls, invest in an aftermarket Bluetooth system. You can stay hands-free and keep your ears open. There are many options on Amazon.

How to Protect Yourself From Others Watch for erratic or inappropriate driving, and give those cars a wide berth. That includes: • A car that's veering from edge to edge inside a lane. • A car that's missing traffic cues, such as failing to accelerate when a light turns green, slows and speeds up in lane without logic, or rides the brakes. • A driver whose head is facing down toward his lap or the seat.

Is There a Law for That?

Many states have texting bans and other laws to combat distracted driving.

Text messaging: Forty-seven states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban texting behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Of the three states without a complete driver ban, two prohibit texting by inexperienced drivers. Montana is the only state without any ban on the books, the GHSA reports.

Handheld cell-phone use: Fifteen states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban handheld mobile phone use while driving. No state bans all cell-phone use for all drivers, but 38 states and Washington, D.C., ban cell-phone use by inexperienced drivers, and 20 states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers, according to a GHSA analysis.

Does enforcement make a difference? The police conducted high-visibility enforcement campaigns in Syracuse, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn., in 2010 and 2011. These efforts were paid for, in part, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The police in Syracuse used roving patrols to spot offenders, and Hartford police used a spotter technique with two patrol cars working together. The percentage of drivers observed to be texting or dialing in Hartford fell to 1.1 percent from 3.9 percent in a little more than a year. Drivers cited for texting tended to commit other violations, such as drifting across lanes or weaving, as a result of their distraction.

But the final report concluded that motorists were willing to continue texting while driving even while agreeing in surveys that the police should enforce texting restrictions.

"The laws have been successful in getting some drivers to put down their phones or switch to hands-free, but we haven't been able to find a corresponding effect in reduced crashes," said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

An unintended consequence, says David Strayer, a University of Utah professor who studies distracted driving, is that "instead of holding the phone, drivers now place it in their lap or on a seat where it can't be seen."

Protections We Want for You

Driver distraction takes more than 3,400 lives a year on U.S. roads—and requires urgent action. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began rolling out driver-distraction guidelines in 2012. Consumer Reports believes industry and government should implement and build on these guidelines. Here's what that means:

Automakers Should . . .  • Not include features that encourage drivers to take their eyes off the road for any significant amount of time. • Design built-in systems that disable distracting content from infotainment systems when a vehicle is in motion. • Ensure that "pairing" capabilities are easy to use. • Implement effective driver monitoring to warn drivers when they're not paying attention. • Make safety features that mitigate crashes standard in every new car.

Tech Companies Should . . . • Incorporate easy-to-use pairing capabilities and driver mode, a simplified interface, into devices. • Disable normal use of a phone while a vehicle is in motion.

Policymakers Should . . . • Update and finalize existing guidelines based on the most recent research and technology, and set new guidelines to address "cognitive" distraction (when a driver's mind is distracted from driving). • Warn the public when apps pose special distraction risks. • Put in place strong standards to accelerate the adoption of proven active safety features, which could save lives in all crashes.

Using a Cellphone in the Car

The best bet is to not use your phone when operating a car—but smartphone navigation and Bluetooth is a common feature nowadays. On the ' Consumer 101 ' TV show, CR expert Jen Stockburger shows host Jack Rico and friends how to stay safe while on the road.

Editor's Note:  This article also appeared in the January 2018 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

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