PHILADELPHIA (NEXSTAR) — Did you know that, on average, it’s likely nine Americans will have died today due to accidents involving distracted driving? Each year, about 3,000 people are killed due to distracted driving — and in 2020, nearly 400 deaths out of that year’s 3,000 fatalities were due specifically to cell phone use.
All-in-all, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says at least 12% of all vehicle crashes involve cell phones. We all know it’s a major problem — but how do you get people to stop doing it?
Recently, Penn Medicine researchers may found a hint and it may have to do with cold hard cash.
For the study, researchers partnered with Progressive Insurance to follow data from 2,000 participants who downloaded apps that monitored phone usage and driving performance. Researchers found that “drivers who were told (and updated weekly) that they could lose up to $7.15 a week were the ones who used their phones least” compared to the group that had no incentives to earn money or receive feedback.
The study found that even a greater amount of money ($14.29 per week) didn’t necessarily motivate less phone usage, though the group’s usage dropped “significantly” overall.
One group of drivers was also promised $50 at the end of the test period, in exchange for monitoring and feedback, which researchers say showed notable results. Interestingly, researchers found that another group who was promised the delayed $50 but without feedback showed less significant results.
“In the United States, there are over 800,000 crashes per year due to distracted driving, with cell phone use while driving being a leading cause. This occurs despite numerous laws banning handheld phone use, suggesting additional scalable interventions are needed,” said lead author M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, faculty director of Penn Medicine’s Nudge Unit and an associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology. “We were able to use the power of humans’ natural aversion to loss and regret, as well as our desire to fit in to social norms, to achieve some significant results.”
Overall, researchers found that the most successful group lowered their phone usage from an average of 56 seconds per hour to around 216 seconds of use per hour.
Penn Medicine explains that insurance companies are increasingly looking into similar programs for their customers, as the data can be used to adjust for those who drive less or more, resulting in discounts for safer drivers. This is called “usage-based insurance,” Penn Medicine says.
The NHTSA recommends that parents talk to their children and young drivers about the importance of focused driving, which includes leading by example. In addition to open discussion, the administration says the whole family could sign a pledge against cell phone usage behind the wheel.
It’s also important for all drivers to remember that distracted driving doesn’t always involve a cell phone. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute warns that other potentially risky driving behaviors include eating/drinking, talking to other passengers, adjusting radio or climate controls and even hands-free phone calls.
Although 49 states, in addition to Washington, D.C., have banned texting while driving as of 2024. Meanwhile, 36 states and Washington, D.C. have laws in place that ban cell phone usage (either texting or hands-free use) by teen drivers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty states have also banned all cell phone use for school bus drivers as of 2024.
