Overview

• Researchers combined 20 in-depth interviews with a 38-item survey of 1,126 teens across four US regions to assess phone-use beliefs and behaviors
• Teen drivers reported looking at their phones for an average of 21.1% of each trip, with 26.5% of those glances lasting two seconds or longer
• Glances lasting two seconds or more raise crash risk more than fivefold, according to the study published in Traffic Injury Prevention Entertainment (65%), texting (40%) and navigation (30%) were cited as the primary motivations for in-vehicle phone use
• The authors recommend using ‘Do Not Disturb’ settings, keeping phones out of reach and ensuring adequate sleep to reduce distracted driving