Travelers: Over 70% of Minneapolis-Area Drivers Surveyed Use Phones While Driving

A recently commissioned survey of 503 Minneapolis-area drivers by The Travelers Companies Inc. found that 71 percent of respondents use a mobile device while driving, with 84 percent of millennials, 72 percent of Gen Xers and 62 percent of baby boomers engaging in this behavior, the company said.

The survey also identified how drivers in the region are using mobile devices while behind the wheel, which included:

• Reading texts or emails (56 percent).
• Typing texts or emails (44 percent).
• Updating or checking social media accounts, such as Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter (24 percent).
• Shopping online (19 percent).

“It’s alarming to see how pervasive the distracted-driving problem is in our society,” Joan Woodward, president of the Travelers Institute and executive vice president of Public Policy at Travelers, said in the company’s announcement. “Nearly 10 percent of our survey respondents said they had hit a pedestrian, cyclist or another vehicle, and 17 percent said they had a ‘near miss’ because they were distracted behind the wheel.”

The company released the data in advance of a symposium on distracted driving held at the University of Minnesota. The event was co-hosted by the Travelers Institute, the Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation, the Distraction-Free for Life Club, Just Drive, the University of Minnesota College of Science & Engineering, the University of Minnesota HumanFIRST Laboratory, the Minnesota Safety Council, the Insurance Federation of Minnesota and Gamma Iota Sigma’s Beta Pi Chapter.

Source: The Travelers Companies