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A new study by State Farm Insurance finds that seniors are bridging the gap with younger motorists as far as smart phone usage and ownership is concerned. Older consumers have been slow to catch up with smart phone technology, but as the new survey indicates, many of them are now enamored by smart phones, and prefer to use these devices to access the Internet. However, with that increased access of smart phone technology also comes the risk of distracted driving accidents involving senior drivers.
There is no denying the fact that distracted driving can be an even bigger challenge when it involves senior motorists. That's because these drivers are already struggling with a number of age-related impairments that can affect their ability to drive safely. Older motorists may have failing vision, hearing problems, slower reflexes and coordination issues that can affect their ability to drive responsibly. When you introduce smart phone use into this situation, driving skills become significantly impaired.
According to the State Farm Insurance survey, the percentage of American motorists who admitted to using the phone to access the Internet while at the wheel, has doubled from 13% in 2009, to 24% in this year's survey. What is even more distressing is that this widespread practice of using smart phones at the wheel, is not confined to a single age category. While young motorists between the age of 16 and 25 continue to be some of the biggest users of smart phones at the wheel, seniors are definitely catching up.
Already, transportation agencies are struggling to reduce the practice of distracted driving among teenage motorists and young drivers. The statistics seem to indicate that they should also begin focusing on smart phone use at the wheel by older drivers too.
