Insurer cracks down on dangerous social media trend

In the face of surging accidents on American roadways, one Northeastern insurer is attempting to bring awareness to one thing that may be distracting drivers.
According to a report from Erie Insurance, motorists are dual-tasking while operating a vehicle, getting distracted to taking scenic photos and posting them to social media.
 
Erie reviewed 90 days of social media tracking data collected from iPhones, iPads and Androids that had their location services turned on. The insurer analyzed Twitter and Instagram posts that came from the devices and used the popular hashtag #whiledriving along with other hashtags.
 
The top five hashtags were related to nature, suggesting that people are snapping pictures of beautiful scenery and posting them to social media, all while driving.
 
"Drivers should be keeping their hands on the wheel, their eyes on the road, and their attention on driving but, based on our analysis of the 'while driving' hashtag, many appear instead to be gazing off into the sunset, often times snapping and sharing photos – clearly an unsafe situation," said Doug Smith, Erie Insurance senior vice president of personal lines.
 
The hashtag analysis also found that men were more likely to be double distracted than women, with 55% of #whiledriving posts coming from male drivers and 45% from females.
 
In 2014, at least 3,179 people were killed and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
"The statistics about the dangers of distracted driving are alarming," said Smith. "So while it's understandable to want to share a picturesque sky with your social media followers—imagine if it were the last one. It's just not worth it. We hope our analysis helps drive that point home."
 
The top 10 hashtags used with #whiledriving were:

1. Clouds                 
2. Sunset 
3. Sky                        
4. Nature
5. Sun                       
6. Nofilter               
7. Landscape
8. Car        
9. Driving 
10. Selfie    

 
The top U.S. states with the most posts using #whiledriving were:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. South Carolina
5. New York
6. Illinois
7. Massachusetts
8. Oregon
9. Colorado
10. Nevada