“It’s widely accepted that police reports often fail to capture the role of cellphones in crashes. Many smartphone functions are hard for a witness to see, and drivers are reluctant to admit being distracted,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “Telematics are allowing us to understand the true magnitude of the problem.”

IIHS researchers examined anonymized cellphone data from Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) for the study. They found that drivers enrolled in safe-driving programs that rely on the CMT platform were using their cellphones in the 30 seconds prior to impact in 7% of single-vehicle crashes and 8% of two-vehicle crashes. Police reports for the same crashes recorded cellphone use in less than 1%. These numbers include drivers whose screens were unlocked for any reason, including navigation. All the same, telematics data show the problem of undercounting is nearly as severe when only physical manipulation of the phone and hand-held and hands-free calls are considered.

Talking and Texting Not the Whole Safety Issue

“Anything that takes the driver’s focus away from driving — including eating, talking or even daydreaming — increases crash risk. But the risk is more severe for more complex tasks that take the driver’s eyes away from the road. Looking away from the road for just two seconds doubles the risk of a crash or near-crash event. The trend toward screen-based smartphone apps makes that especially worrisome. Though voice commands make old-school actions like calling and texting safer, gaming and social media apps offer new temptations. In many jurisdictions, the laws have yet to catch up, IIHS said.

“The apps may be new, but the danger isn’t,” IIHS Research Scientist Aimee Cox, the study’s lead author, said. “Any phone use that takes a driver’s eyes off the road can increase crash risk.”