PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — State Farm Insurance is reminding drivers to ‘put the phone down and keep your eyes on the road.’
A new self-reported survey from State Farm found 52 percent of drivers read and send text messages while driving. Another 43 percent interact with apps, 32 percent watch videos and 28 percent record videos.
“I’ve seen people eating breakfast, I’ve seen people putting on makeup… It’s something very simple and easy to remember to do, and it could change the life of you, your family, or someone else just by doing that one little step of keeping your eyes on the road,” said State Farm spokesperson Heather Paul.
Paul recommended getting rid of all distractions before getting behind the wheel.
“It’s very easy for you to take your phone, put it in your bag and put it in the back seat, away from you, where you’re less likely to want to look at it…It is your responsibility as a driver to try to remove as many distractions as possible and focus on that one task which is getting from Point A to Point B safely, both for you and others,” she said.
The State Farm survey also found 43 percent of distracted drivers tend to drive faster than others.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, distracted driving was behind more than 3,500 fatal crashes in 2021.
