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.