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A backseat driver might be the most annoying passenger to have in the car, but it turns out most people share the mentality that if they were the ones at the wheel, they could do the job better.
According to a new survey from Arity, a data and mobility insights start-up born from Allstate, 80% of drivers think their abilities are better than other road warriors. And, two-thirds rate their ability to avoid distractions as superior to other drivers.
With distracted driving continuing to be a major risk and cause of collisions on roads in North America, the numbers just don’t add up.
“There was an almost universal truth that people believed that these things are bad, that texting while driving is a very serious issue and one that shouldn’t be the case,” said Gary Hallgren, Arity’s president, about the survey’s results. “They always say that everybody else is doing it, but for me, I’m only doing it half the time.”
Arity surveyed over 2,000 drivers over the month of February to gather insight into the issue of distracted driving. The next step will be to collect data from those surveyed on how they actually drive, and how frequently they’re distracted by their phones and other devices.
Almost 100% of drivers from the survey acknowledged that texting was the most distracting activity – an unsurprising stat considering the widespread awareness around the dangers of texting and driving. However, other activities that people try to accomplish in their cars were less concerning for survey respondents.
“People believe that talking on the phone while driving in a hands-free state is actually quite OK, and we have data that says that’s not the case at all,” said Hallgren. “The texting, everyone agrees that this is bad and it’s very distracting, I shouldn’t do it, and with the hands-free calling, I think there is a little bit more acceptance that this is actually OK and there’s probably some awareness that could be done on the severity of doing that.”
For insurers, Arity’s predictive modelling on driver risks could prove useful to get more accurate auto insurance pricing. Tracking how often someone picks up their phone, holds it up to their ear, or unlocks the screen while they’re on the road is one way to collect data on distracted driving.
“There are certain things that people are doing that expose themselves to more risk and I think it’s an understanding of what those behaviours are which I think will be interesting for the insurers,” said Hallgren. Rates that reflect a driver’s actual behaviours on the road, and not necessarily qualities they can’t control, like age – often considered in insurance – is the end goal.
“There’s nothing you can do about being an 18-year-old kid that has been driving for two years – that’s just who you are and people are going to put you in a bucket,” explained Hallgren. “When we think about the types of services that we’re creating, it’s all about empowering customers so that they have more control. It’s a whole lot easier to prove that you are a very responsible 18-year-old driver based upon your driving.”
