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In the United States, the use of cell phones while driving is an important factor in traffic accidents. Yet, a new study reveals that, despite the many public health warnings about distracted driving, the majority of parents still use their phone on the go, a particular group. face the most risk: millennials.
As more and more young women become parents, researchers at Harvard Brigham and Women's hospitals wanted to know if their driving habits were different from those of older parents because of their use of technology.
The researchers found that while 52% of Generation Y parents – aged 22 to 37 in 2018 – and 57% of parents over age 37 said that it was "never" safe to text and drive, nearly two-thirds of all parents admitted reading text messages while driving and more than half also sent text messages.
The need to use our cell phones while driving stems from the current need to "always be reachable," Dr. Regan Bergmark, lead author of the study, of the Center for Surgery and Public Health, told the main agenda. Brigham Hospital and Women & # 39; s.
But using your phone while driving, Bergmark said, hinders three key elements of driving safely: the attention, the vision and the hands on the steering wheel. She stated that when these priorities were not prioritized, drivers were at greatest risk of falling.
Road accidents are still among the leading causes of death in all age groups.
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at a representative group of more than 400 parents who participated in the distracted driving survey and asked them about their driving behavior, especially if they used e-mail. social media or cards. She also asked about their use of the cell phone with or without children in the car and how fast they reached those activities.
Although the majority of adults participating in the study reported that they were driving in a distracted manner, millennials parents were more likely to be distracted by risky activities going beyond the text messages, such as answering e-mails and using maps.
About 16% of Millennial parents had had at least one accident in the year preceding the survey, compared with 10% of older parents, but this difference was not significant, said l & # 39; study.
Although the American Academy of Pediatrics regularly emphasizes the importance of using the correct seat and seat belt, discussions about the dangers of distracted driving do not always go to the doctor's office. In fact, only 20% of the adults surveyed reported remembering that their child's pediatrician had talked about these issues.
Bergmark said doctors could do more to remind parents not to send SMS and drive, but she also pointed out that technology does not always have to be a security threat – it can also be the solution .
Many phones, for example, have "do not disturb" functions that can be activated while driving. When enabled, this setting prevents notifications from brightening the screen. There are also applications, some of which incorporate GPS systems, which reward drivers for safer driving habits.
Millennials, more than any other generation, are turning to the Internet for everything, including tips for raising healthy and safe children. When it comes to driving, this advice probably includes storing the phone – this can wait.
Nitya Kumar is resident physician in internal medicine in Houston, Texas, and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
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