Can You Drive Safely While Using An App?

It’s true that people have difficulty refraining from using mobile device — even when they’re behind the wheel. A new study from McKinsey shows that 35% of smartphone owners said they use them while driving. And those are just the ones who admitted it. Out of the 4,000 people surveyed for the report, 89% said they use their phone for calls while driving; 68% said for navigation and 39% said for SMS. The survey also shows that 55% of people ages 18 to 39 say they think in-car access to data is important. And 83% of that same group is willing to pay for in-car access.

Sound dangerous? It is. Texting and driving makes an accident 23 times more likely; another report shows that up to 25% of all roadway accidents are gadget related. Some states have passed bans on the use of mobile devices while driving: California, for instance, saw road fatalities decline by 22% in just two years after it implemented a ban on talking or texting on a mobile phone while driving.

Dashboard 593x409 Can You Drive Safely While Using An App?

In lieu of people’s insistence on using their phones while driving, motor vehicle companies are working to develop and perfect the app dash–A dashboard that functions as your phone would. The goal is to create apps that do not require the use of your hands. Unfortunately, this approach is merely placing a band-aid on cancer. Studies and statics show that people talking on a hands free bluetooth device while driving still have higher rates of automobile accidents. A person with their hands at 10 and 2, talking on a bluetooth headset, is still many times more likely to wreck than a person talking to a passenger in the front seat.

What do you think about driving safety and mobile phones?

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