Travelers Finds 82 Percent of Baltimore-Area Drivers Surveyed Use Phones While Driving

In a survey of 500 Baltimore-area drivers commissioned by Travelers, 82 percent of respondents said they use a mobile device while driving.

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Business Wire, Inc.Business Wire, Inc.
Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Information
Tags: 
Other Consumer, Travel, Transportation, Automotive, Professional services, Insurance, Other Automotive, Consumer, Road safety, Traffic law, Attention, Distracted driving
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United States, Connecticut
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Summary
Key Points: 
  • In a survey of 500 Baltimore-area drivers commissioned by Travelers, 82 percent of respondents said they use a mobile device while driving.
  • Some of the activities that drivers in the region admitted to engaging in while behind the wheel include:
    Updating or checking social media, such as Facebook or Twitter (26 percent).
  • Family obligations requiring attention or not wanting to miss something important were the top reasons Baltimore-area drivers gave for communicating on a mobile device while driving, said Jessica Kearney, Second Vice President, Travelers Institute.
  • Baltimore residents are not alone, as mobile devices also continue to distract drivers nationwide.


The Travelers
Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies,
Inc. (NYSE: TRV),
will host a symposium, “Disrupting Distraction,” today at Morgan State
University in Baltimore, Maryland. The program, part of the company’s Every
Second Matters℠ distracted-driving education series, kicks off
Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and will address the latest trends
and research around distracted driving and promising approaches to
tackling this important public health problem.

In a survey of 500 Baltimore-area drivers commissioned by Travelers, 82
percent of respondents said they use a mobile device while driving. Some
of the activities that drivers in the region admitted to engaging in
while behind the wheel include:

  • Reading texts or emails (51 percent).
  • Updating or checking social media, such as Facebook or Twitter (26
    percent).
  • Shopping online (21 percent).
  • Recording video (21 percent).

“Family obligations requiring attention or not wanting to miss something
important were the top reasons Baltimore-area drivers gave for
communicating on a mobile device while driving,” said Jessica Kearney,
Second Vice President, Travelers Institute. “We know we’re putting
ourselves and others at risk by allowing mobile devices and other
distractions to take our attention away from the road, yet this issue
persists across the country.”

Baltimore residents are not alone, as mobile devices also continue to
distract drivers nationwide. According to the 2019
Travelers Risk Index, a national survey of 2,000 consumers and
executives, nearly 80 percent of consumers said they make or receive
phone calls while driving, and more than 30 percent admitted to having
been in a near-miss or crash because they were distracted. Many
respondents said they continue these risky behaviors because it would be
very difficult to stop or because they feel pressure to always be
available for work.

Today’s event — held in partnership with the National Transportation
Center at Morgan State University, the National Safety Council and the
Road to Zero Coalition — will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET. It will feature a
discussion with Dr. Babar Shafiq, Director, Orthopaedic Bone Health
Center and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, who will share firsthand experiences
treating victims of distracted driving, and a panel session moderated by
Kearney with experts including:

  • Lt. Colonel Kevin Anderson, Chief of Operations Bureau, Maryland
    Transportation Authority Police.
  • Chris Hayes, Second Vice President, Transportation Services, Risk
    Control, Travelers.
  • Dr. Mansoureh Jeihani, Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator,
    Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Studies, Morgan State
    University.
  • Jane Mellow, Senior Program Manager, Road to Zero Coalition, National
    Safety Council.

“It’s alarming how prevalent the distracted-driving problem remains in
our communities, especially considering how preventable these crashes
are,” said Dr. David Wilson, President of Morgan State University, who
will give a welcome address at the event. “We’re proud to work with the
Travelers Institute on this event, which will generate meaningful
conversations, encourage smarter choices and help make our roads safer
for everyone.”

Visit the Travelers
Institute website for more information about the company’s Every
Second Matters campaign.

About the Travelers Institute
The Travelers
Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies,
Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of
importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services
industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry
expertise of Travelers’ senior management, as well as the technical
expertise of many of Travelers’ underwriters, risk managers and other
experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public
policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property
casualty insurance for auto,
home
and business. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.

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