According to an analysis by Response Insurance of their 2003 national driving survey, people who use cell phones when driving are more likely to be distracted from the road even when they are not talking on a phone. The results indicate there may be a “distracted-driver personality” type behind the wheel.

The Response Insurance National Driving Distractions Survey compared attentiveness of cell phone users to non-users when not talking on a phone. When asked a series of questions about different topics that might take their attention from the road, people who use cell phones were significantly more likely to be distracted when thinking about every-day issues and concerns than drivers who do not use cell phones while driving.

When compared to drivers who do not talk on cell phones, drivers who use cell phones are 56% more likely to be distracted behind the wheel while thinking about what to eat; 36% more likely to be distracted thinking about relationship issues; 32% more likely to be distracted when thinking about their jobs; 27% more likely to be distracted when thinking about health concerns; 21% more likely to be distracted when thinking about family issues, and 19% more likely to be distracted when thinking about money issues or bills.  

If, as the survey indicates, certain people are more likely to be distracted behind the wheel, recent attention to cell phone use may be missing the larger problem of driver inattention.

“From the time we issued our first survey, we said that cell phones were only one part of a societal trend of multi-tasking while driving and a general lack of attention to the road,” said Mory Katz, Chairman of Response Insurance. “Our analysis points to what could be a chronic inattentiveness problem for a specific group of drivers. We hope this information sets the stage for additional research and much more driver education in this area.”