Smartphone apps creating more distraction for young drivers

Recent survey findings from Ingenie, a UK car insurance brand for young drivers, have revealed that 58 per cent of 17-25 year old drivers agree that smartphone apps are causing young people to be more distracted at the wheel. The company commissioned the survey of 1,000 young drivers, conducted by One Poll, which has uncovered the extent of how smartphones and social media are distracting 17-25 year olds when behind the wheel.
April 30, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Recent survey findings from 5351 Ingenie, a UK car insurance brand for young drivers, have revealed that 58 per cent of 17-25 year old drivers agree that smartphone apps are causing young people to be more distracted at the wheel. The company commissioned the survey of 1,000 young drivers, conducted by One Poll, which has uncovered the extent of how smartphones and social media are distracting 17-25 year olds when behind the wheel.

The survey revealed:

  • Over 40% admitted to answering their phones while driving without a hands-free set
  • 44% said they had sent a text message, and 62% said they had read a message while they were driving
  • 1 in 6 male drivers under 25 has crashed due to mobile phone usage at the wheel
  • One third of under 25s who use Facebook on their phone admitted to using it whilst driving
  • 18% of under 25s who have ‘Draw Something’ on their phone have played the game whilst driving - 17% for Angry Birds
  • Hands-free kits encourage 53% more young drivers to make longer calls at the wheel (longer than five minutes)

The results collected from the survey suggest that the increasing range of apps and functionality available on mobile devices is contributing to young driver distraction - even mobile games, which take a high level of concentration are taking young people's attention away from the roads.

On the growing range of dangerous distractions created by smartphones, Ingenie founder and CEO Richard King said, "We're in the middle of a perfect storm, where the rapid growth of social media and mobile is creating a new breed of in-car distraction.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cellcontrol partners with Pure Insurance on free distracted driving technology
    June 13, 2012
    Cellcontrol, a leading developer of distracted driving solutions, has launched what it claims is a first-of-its-kind programme with specialist member-owned insurer Pure (Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange) to help prevent distracted driving incidents caused by teenage drivers. As part of the pilot, Pure has offered complimentary devices and a full year’s subscription to Cellcontrol’s technology to drivers under the age of 18, and will be providing the technology at a discounted rates to the entire P
    Read More
  • Survey outlines predictions for public transport by 2025
    January 22, 2016
    A new survey from Xerox underscores the desire for self-driving cars and smart digital services like integrated apps and cashless payment by Europe’s Generation Z (those aged 18-24 years old). The study was conducted by TNS on behalf of Xerox between 5 and 26 October 2015 among 1,200 respondents in 12 cities across the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. It revealed that by 2025, a third (32 per cent) of 18-24 year olds expect to be using self-driving cars, four in ten (41 per cent) say they w
    Read More
  • IBTTA Summit: satellite tolling is the future
    August 15, 2019
    IBTTA members met in Florida to consider the technological changes that will impact their businesses – including satellite tolling. Colin Sowman reports from Orlando Over decades, the technology employed in toll collection has been honed to near perfection – automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are easily within a couple of per cent of infallibility even at highway speeds. However, technical innovations beyond the confines of the toll road cannot b
    Read More
  • Oregon trials road user charging
    February 11, 2013
    In Oregon, gas-tax money funds about 58 per cent of the budget used to take care of the state’s roads. As vehicles become more fuel efficient, the gas tax, which is 30 cents a gallon in Oregon and 37 cents in Washington, will generate less and less money. “If we’re using gasoline and diesel sales to fund our transportation system, we’re going to be in big trouble,” said Patrick Cooney of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Recognizing the problem early, Oregon started studying alternatives to th
    Read More

Highlighted Content