Distracted Drivers Remain Deadly
More than half of drivers report using a smartphone while driving, according to recent poll.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
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Do you drive while using a cell phone? You are not alone and it could cost you your life.
A recent poll found that 83% of Virginia drivers consider using a smartphone while driving without a hands-free device to be very dangerous.
Yet the same poll, done by DRIVE SMART Virginia, found that 66% of drivers who participated in the poll admitted to driving distracted, and 22% admitted to regularly using a smartphone while driving without a hands-free device.
According to Virginia State police, there were 18,688 crashes with 783 fatalities and 10,222 injuries across the state in 2024.
Distracted driving was the main cause of a majority of these accidents, with cell phone use tied directly to 13 of the fatal crashes. Distracted driving crashes are up 3% from 2023.
Since 2021, Virginia law has prohibited drivers from holding a cell phone in their hands while driving, but use of Bluetooth technology to make a call hands-free is still legal.
In a news release from the Virginia Department Transportation and the state police recognizing April as “Distracted Driver Awareness Month,” state police superintendent Matthew Hanley said, “The law requires you to put the phone down and keep your eyes on the road. One quick glance at a text can end a life.”
Using GPS on a phone to get directions has increased in recent years, and that has increased distraction behind the wheel, according to DRIVE SMART.
Accidents caused by cell phone-related distracted driving may be under-reported, according to Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Gerald Lackey.
“Distracted driving incidents are hard to report and confirm, so the lives we lost as a result of distracted driving and the crashes we attribute to distracted driving, may just be the tip of the iceberg” said Lackey.
DRIVE SMART is highlighting this issue this month, trying to convince drivers to use the “Do Not Disturb” feature on their phones and mute notifications and other alerts while driving.
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