Drivers in New York, whatever generation they belong to, are as prone to distracted driving as drivers elsewhere. Volvo recently teamed up with the Harris Poll to study distracted driving among all generations of drivers in the U.S. There were 2,000 participants, and they spanned from the Silent Generation and baby boomers to Gen Xers, millennials and Generation Z, which encompasses those born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.
Millennials and Gen Xers were the most prone to phone use behind the wheel: 81 percent admitted to it. This was followed by 71 percent of Gen Z, 64 percent of baby boomers and 50 percent among the Silent Generation. Specifically, 60 percent admitted to texting, 35 percent to reading emails, 25 percent to surfing the web and 20 percent to posting on social media.
However, the participants’ perception of other drivers was far off the mark. On average, the participants claimed that 90 percent of other drivers text, 90 percent read emails, 88 percent surf the web and 90 percent post on social media.
More generally, the study showed that more than half of Americans get anxious when they have much to do and that they feel a need to refocus. Among Gen Z, 51 percent said that it’s harder to focus on a single task than it was five years ago.
It appears that many drivers recognize the need to minimize distractions yet fail to follow through. Such failure still constitutes negligence, so when car accidents arise from distracted driving, victims can file an injury claim. New York operates under the rule of pure comparative negligence, so victims may have their damages lowered based on the degree to which they contributed to the crash. A lawyer might assist by hiring investigators and other third parties and by handling negotiations.
