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Teen Drivers Spend More Than One-Fifth of Trip Glancing at Phones, Study Shows

Traffic Injury Prevention publication identifies entertainment as the leading distraction followed by texting and navigation with a call for built-in phone safeguards

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Overview

  • The research combined 20 interviews with high school students and a 38-item questionnaire completed by 1,126 teenage drivers nationwide.
  • Participants spent an average of 21.1% of each trip looking at their mobile devices, with entertainment driving the majority of glances at 65%.
  • Texting accounted for 40% of distraction events and navigation functions made up 30% of phone interactions while driving.
  • A strong belief that peers also drive distracted emerged as a key social norm reinforcing risky in-car phone use despite bans in 35 states.
  • Researchers recommend activating ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, securing phones out of reach and launching targeted education campaigns to reinforce existing young driver phone bans.