A national survey, the first government study of its kind on distracted driving, and other data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the difficulty authorities face in discouraging texting and cellphone talking while driving. About half of American drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 say they've thumbed messages or emailed from the driver's seat. And what's more, many drivers don't think it's dangerous when they do it -- only when others do.
At any given moment, nearly one in every 100 car drivers was texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a hand-held electronic device, the safety administration reports. And those activities spiked 50 percent over the previous year, even with new state legislation in place banning the practices.
In 2010, there were an estimated 3,092 deaths in crashes affected by a wide range of driver distractions, the safety administration said. That number was derived using a new methodology aimed at getting a more precise picture of distracted-driving deaths and can't be compared to tallies from previous years, officials said.
An NHTSA survey of more than 6,000 drivers found that most said they would answer a cellphone call while driving and continue to drive after answering. And nearly two of 10 acknowledged sending texts or emails from behind the wheel. And for drivers 21 to 24 years old, it was over half.
More than half of drivers said making a cellphone call made no difference to their driving performance, and a quarter said texting or emailing made no difference. But 90 percent said that when they are passengers, they feel very unsafe if the driver is texting or emailing.
