A problem of focus

Distracted driving refers to anything that takes your eyes or mental focus off of the road. It can be reaching for something in the car or navigating the increasingly complicated controls that our testers have seen in many newer car models. But the use of cell phones behind the wheel has become a particular concern in recent years.

It's difficult to accurately assess the full extent of the problem because many police departments don't record the use of cell phones or other causes of distracted driving in their accident reports. Still, available information shows that 5,474 people were killed and almost a half million were injured in accidents related to distracted driving in 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the Department of Transportation. And 18 percent of those fatal accidents involved the use of a cell phone.

The problem is especially pronounced among younger drivers. Sixteen percent of all teenage drivers involved in a fatal crash were reported to have been distracted while driving. Among our survey respondents who are under 30 years old, 63 percent reported using a handheld phone while driving within the previous 30 days; almost one in three texted behind the wheel. That compares with 41 and 9 percent, respectively, of respondents who are 30 or older.

"When you're young, you think you're invincible," says 20-year-old Lindsey Harden, of Wheeling, W.Va. "You think nothing will happen to you." But two years ago Harden accidentally drove her car into a rock wall while texting with her boyfriend. She suffered extensive injuries that required four months of hospital care and rehabilitation, and she's still recovering from a crash-related stroke that affected her memory.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has conducted several studies that illustrate how texting and cell-phone use impair driving. In a 2006 study, it found that almost 80 percent of all crashes are caused by driver inattention. A 2009 study found that physically dialing a phone while driving increases the risk of a crash as much as six times. And a study of commercial truckers showed that texting behind the wheel is riskier still, increasing the risk of a crash 23 times compared with nondistracted driving.

The reason is clear: Texting or dialing a cell phone—or even scrolling through the menus of an iPod—forces you to take your eyes off of the road, leaving you virtually driving blind. That is exacerbated by the fact that the small buttons and screens and complex menus of portable electronics aren't designed for use while driving, unlike the controls on a car's dashboard.

The effect of the cell-phone conversation itself is less clear. The 2009 Virginia Tech study shows little risk from cell-phone conversation. But a 2001 study conducted by the University of Utah found that participants who engaged in cell-phone conversations missed twice as many simulated traffic signals as when they were not talking on a phone, and it took longer to react to signals they did notice. Other studies show similar results.

The vast majority of our survey respondents—90 percent—felt that texting while driving is very dangerous. About half considered using a handheld phone very dangerous. But while 60 percent of our respondents said they are very concerned about distracted driving, almost a quarter of all respondents reported that it hasn't led them to reduce or stop such behavior.