Despite the many traffic laws aimed at prevention, distracted driving continues to be a problem in New Jersey and across the country. Because distracted driving often involves phone use, many people tend to assume that younger drivers are the most likely offenders. However, a new study suggests that more mature adults are actually the biggest culprits when it comes to phone use behind the wheel.
The survey by Volvo and the Harris Poll discovered that distracted driving is on a lot of drivers’ minds. Most people surveyed worry about distracted driving more than drunk driving or speeding. But the tendency of respondents was to blame others for distracted driving while maintaining their own relative innocence. Drivers generally think that around 90 percent of other drivers use phones while driving, but far less admit to doing it themselves.
The biggest surprise from the study was that after breaking down the responses by age groups, researchers found that it’s not the youngest drivers who are doing most of the talking or texting while driving.
Generation Z, defined as people born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, are more likely to be distracted by their phones than older Baby Boomers, but the majority of distracted drivers belong to the millennial generation and Generation X. Talking is the main phone activity people engage in, but Generation Z does this significantly less than all other generations. These younger drivers are more likely to text behind the wheel, but they don’t even do that as often as millennials and Generation X drivers do.
Distracted motorists who cause car accidents could be liable for damages to anyone who was injured in the accident. Whether or not a distracted driver has broken a law, someone who has been injured has a right to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party.