The latest Travelers Risk Index highlights a significant gap between awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and the continued prevalence of risky behaviors behind the wheel.
According to Chris Hayes, assistant vice president at Travelers, while the majority of drivers recognize the risks associated with distractions, many still engage in dangerous activities such as checking social media while driving.
“The surprising thing is that while the common perception consistently throughout the risk index on distracted driving is that people see it as a real risk, they still do the risky behaviors at the same time,” Hayes told AM Best TV in an interview.
“There’s almost this dichotomy… we think there’s lot of risk, but we don’t see that we’re contributing to it. That’s really what we’re trying to get under.”
The index, which surveyed consumers and business leaders, reveals that common distractions include not only phone use but also other seemingly minor actions like eating and even reading billboards.
The previous pandemic exacerbated these behaviors, as drivers who enjoyed less congested roads during early lockdowns may have developed a false sense of security that has lingered even as traffic levels returned to normal.
Hayes explained: “We remember those days of trying to go out to the grocery store once a week and suddenly there’s no one on the highway… Like I can drive a little bit faster. I don’t need to use my turn signal. It’s OK to check my phone while driving because there’s so little traffic out there.
“What we’ve seen is those behaviors continued to increase over the course of the pandemic while traffic resumed to its normal patterns. What we’ve seen last year is traffic is at the same density as it was or close to what it was pre-pandemic.”
The index also explored the corporate perspective, focusing on how business leaders view road safety for their employees. Many companies have started implementing policies to address distracted driving, encouraging employees to avoid taking calls or responding to emails while on the road.
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