The Travelers Instituteto discuss findings at the Every
Second Matters℠ event in Denver as part of Distracted Driving
Awareness Month
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
today announced the results of the first release of the 2018
Travelers Risk Index, which focuses on distracted driving and
perception of risks among drivers and passengers. Consistent with
previous years, an overwhelming majority of people surveyed said that
distracted driving is a concern. Eighty-five percent said it is
extremely risky to use smartphones or tablets while driving, yet nearly
a quarter of respondents said they do it.
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2018 Travelers Risk Index on Distracted Driving (Graphic: Business Wire)
The Travelers Risk Index also found:
-
Approximately one in 10 respondents reported being frequently
distracted by technology while driving.
-
61 percent of those who respond to personal texts, emails and calls
while driving do so because there might be an emergency.
-
23 percent of those who said they respond to personal texts, emails
and calls while driving do so because they are afraid of missing out
on something important.
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25 percent of people indicate they multitask when driving because they
think they can do so safely.
-
Only 12 percent of respondents said they use safety features like
“auto-reply” and “do not disturb while driving” despite the fact that
they are available on many phones.
“These survey results are very telling,” said Joan Woodward, Executive
Vice President, Public Policy, and President of the Travelers Institute.
“There’s clearly a disconnect between drivers’ perception of what is
safe and the reality of what is happening on our roads. Lives are being
lost to distracted driving–related collisions, and we created the Every
Second Matters initiative to help change perceptions about this
problem so people start taking it seriously.”
When the Travelers Risk Index findings are compared with data from TrueMotion’s
smartphone telematics apps that monitor actual driving behaviors,
including distraction, the results show that nearly 40 percent of
drivers are distracted for an average of 15 minutes per hour driven.
This further demonstrates the misperceptions about distracted driving.
“The first step to changing behaviors is being aware of them,” said
TrueMotion CEO Ted Gramer. “The Travelers Risk Index highlights that
drivers are categorizing distraction as ‘someone else’s problem’ when
they are the ones who are actually engaging in highly risky behavior.
Awareness programs like Every Second Matters and digital programs
designed to reward safe driving, powered by smartphone telematics
platforms like TrueMotion, are critically important, as they take a
proactive approach to curbing this deadly epidemic.”
The Travelers
Institute will share select findings from the Risk Index today
during its Every Second Matters symposium at the University of
Colorado Denver. The event will be held in collaboration with the
University of Colorado Denver Business School’s Risk Management and
Insurance Program, Gamma Iota Sigma’s Beta Mu Chapter, the National
Safety Council, the Road to Zero Coalition, the Colorado CPCU Society
Chapter and Trusted Choice Insurance Agents of Colorado.
“Distracted driving is involved in an average of 40 crashes every day in
Colorado, and in 2016, those crashes resulted in 67 deaths,” said Sam
Cole, Traffic Safety Communications Manager for the Colorado Department
of Transportation (CDOT). “Initiatives such as Travelers’ Every
Second Matters series and CDOT’s Drop the Distraction
campaign help raise awareness about the dangers of taking your eyes off
the road, with the goal of improving safety.”
The next Every Second Matters event takes place April 3 at
Mississippi State University. To learn more about the Travelers
Institute® symposium series, and to register for an upcoming event,
visit the Travelers
Institute website.
For more information about distracted driving risks and how to stay safe
behind the wheel, visit the Travelers Prepare
& Prevent website.
About TrueMotion
TrueMotion,
the leading smartphone telematics platform, analyzed the driving
behavior of 6,000+ drivers over 149 million trips using its free
distracted driving mobile apps, TrueMotion Family and Mojo, from January
2018 through March 2018. The company collects smartphone sensor data and
uses machine learning to determine when a person is driving and if he or
she is actively distracted texting, making phone calls or using apps
like Facebook versus passively distracted with apps for music and maps.
About the Travelers Risk Index
Hart
Research conducted a national online survey of 1,000 consumers, ages
18 to 69, in March 2018. The survey was commissioned by Travelers.
About Travelers
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto,
home
and business.
A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has
approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately
$29 billion in 2017. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180402005446/en/
The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Judy Senechal, 860.277.2366
jlsenech@travelers.com
Source: The Travelers Companies, Inc.