Survey: One in five Canadians admits to distracted driving

Canadians know distracted driving is a big risk factor on the road. While 8 in 10 respondents (79%) to the latest Desjardins survey released today isay they regularly see other drivers using a smartphone behind the wheel, only 38 percent admit to having driven distracted at least once. A further 21% admitted to using their phone while driving within the past year.

Smartphone-related distracted driving is more pronounced with younger drivers. Eleven percent of drivers aged 16-24 admit to driving while using their smartphone on a regular basis, twice the national average (5%).

When asked what drivers use their smartphone for while driving, one-third point to GPS apps as the primary reason. Here too, however, younger drivers are more likely to reach for the phone, with 45% of drivers aged 16-24 using GPS apps compared to only 22% of the 55-74 age group. Non-smartphone distractions include: the external environment (51%), focusing on passengers or children in the vehicle (35%), changing settings on the vehicle's entertainment system (35%) and eating or drinking (31%).

Changing Behaviours
Overall, Canadians ranked distracted driving as the second largest risk factor when they take to the road, behind alcohol impaired driving. So, what will change distracted driver behaviour?

The survey found that the biggest deterrent were consequences related to getting caught using a smartphone behind the wheel. Fifty-five percent are most concerned about fines and the potential for higher insurance rates. While 37 percent of drivers stated that getting into a motor-vehicle collision would make them more likely to stop driving distracted.

While drivers fear the financial consequences of distracted driving, a strong majority (68%) say that current laws are not effective enough in deterring distracted driving.

"We know that changing driver behaviour is a key component of Vision Zero, the road safety movement with the goal of eliminating serious injuries and deaths from motor vehicle collisions," said Steve Podborski, President and CEO of Parachute, Canada's national charity dedicated to injury prevention. "These deaths are not the result of 'accidents' but due to preventable and predictable events. Through education, changing how we build our cars and roads, and through enforcement, we can create safer travel for all Canadians."

"Despite continued declines in fatalities due to road crashes in the past decade, deaths involving distracted driving have increased. Distraction was a factor in 1 in 4 fatalities in 2015", said Robyn Robertson, President & CEO of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. "Through our partnership with Desjardins, we are able to track data and trends to raise awareness among Canadians".