New data reveals distracted driving spikes during summer months;
Travelers Institute to host Every Second Matters™ event on Capitol Hill
to raise awareness of dangers
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
and its public policy division, the Travelers
Institute, are warning drivers about the increased risk for
distracted driving this summer. TrueMotion,
the leading smartphone telematics platform, recently analyzed the
behavior of more than 20,000 drivers from January 2017 to May 2018 and
found that they spent less time looking at the road and more time
looking at their phones during the months of June, July and August.
Specifically, the findings indicate summertime drivers are distracted
for an average of about 15 minutes of every hour they spend driving — an
increase of nearly 10 percent when compared to the rest of the year.
“Summer road trips, vacations and holidays mean more people will be on
the road, making it especially important to focus on driving and avoid
distractions that could lead to accidents,” said Michael Klein,
Executive Vice President and President of Personal Insurance at
Travelers. “We launched our Every Second Matters initiative to
educate people about the dangers of distracted driving and to share
practical steps that can be taken to keep our roads safe.”
The summer months bring increased traffic from additional vehicles, as
well as a higher number of pedestrians on the streets and more
construction projects. According to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are 20 percent more
miles driven in the summer months than in winter, and the months of
June, July and August have 29 percent more roadway deaths than the
winter months of December, January and February.
The Travelers
Institute will discuss the dangers of distracted driving and the new
data from TrueMotion on June 15 during its Every Second Matters
symposium on Capitol Hill. The event will be co-hosted by the National
Safety Council and the Road to Zero Coalition. Joan Woodward, Executive
Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers and President of the
Travelers Institute, will be joined at the event by Klein; Charlie
Klauer, Research Scientist and Leader, Teen Risk and Injury Prevention
Group, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute; Robert Molloy, Director
for the Office of Highway Safety at the National Transportation Safety
Board; and Jane Terry, Senior Director for Government Affairs at the
National Safety Council.
“When you look away from the road, for even a few seconds, you lose the
time needed to react properly to your surroundings,” said Klauer. “Our
research shows the problem is only getting worse, so we need to continue
talking about this in hopes that eventually distracted driving becomes
as unacceptable as not wearing a seat belt or drinking and driving.”
“The risk of distracted driving is real and yet entirely preventable,”
said TrueMotion CEO Ted Gramer. “Our hope is that we can make a
difference by continuously emphasizing the dangers we pose to ourselves
and others any time we aren’t 100 percent focused while driving.”
“It’s important that we use this information to bring more attention to
the problem,” said Molloy. “We should have the conversation with our
friends and family, encouraging each other to stay focused while
driving, and speak up when others are engaging in risky behaviors behind
the wheel.”
The Travelers Institute also recently issued a report, Every
Second Matters: A conversation starter on reducing distracted driving
risk, which explores recent trends in motor vehicle collisions
and provides safe driving tips. For more information about distracted
driving and summer travel safety, visit the Travelers Prepare
& Prevent website.
About TrueMotion
TrueMotion,
the leading smartphone telematics platform, analyzed the driving
behavior of 20,000+ drivers over 8.4 million trips using its free
distracted driving mobile app, TrueMotion Family, from January 2017
through May 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 by texting, making phone calls or using apps like
Facebook versus passively distracted with apps for music and maps.
About the Travelers Institute
The Travelers
Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies,
Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of
importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services
industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry
expertise of Travelers’ senior management, as well as the technical
expertise of many of Travelers’ underwriters, risk managers and other
experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public
policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property
casualty insurance for auto,
home
and business.
For more information, visit www.travelers.com.
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/20180613005670/en/
Media:
The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Nicole Guzzardi,
860-277-0836
nguzzard@travelers.com
Source: The Travelers Companies, Inc.