Generation X is more likely to use a mobile phone while driving than millennials and Gen-Z.
A Finding Focus on the Road study commissioned by Volvo Car in the United States reveals the young parents which grew up with Atari, Rubik’s Cube and the Walkman are as likely to use their phone as the newer generation.
Conducted by The Harris Poll in June 2018, of over 2000 adults in the US, including 1894 drivers, 55% list distracted driving as the top threat to safety on the roads, followed by driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol (31%), road rage (8%) and speeding (3%).
Four out of five admit to driving while fatigued.
A massive 81% of Generation X and millennials have admitted to using a mobile phone while driving, followed by 71% of “young boomers” – baby boomers turning 50.
Sending text messages was admitted to by 60% of those surveyed, and 66% say they keep their phone within reach and ‘don’t let their phones out of sight while driving’.
Self-regulation appears to be an issue, with about 90% perceiving other drivers as sending or receiving text messages, dialling and talking on the phone, but in three out of those four categories, no more than 70% perceive themselves as distracted.
Of those surveyed, 81% say manufacturers “should do more to minimize distractions in the car”, with 74% saying they would pay more for a vehicle “with in-built features to correct or prevent distractions”.
This includes 61% of Gen-Z consumers who use the ‘do not disturb’ function on their phone to reduce distraction, including 36% of all drivers who would like a similar function built into their cars to disable calls and texting while driving.
More than half of parents surveyed, 54%, say they would use voice commands to change their GPS in the technology was “easy to use”.
“Distracted driving is not unique to younger generations,” says Volvo Car USA’s product, technology and brand communications senior manager Jim Nichols.
“In fact, it’s a problem we are seeing across generations and demographics.”
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