The American insurance comparison portal “The Zabra” comes in the latest survey to amazing results. Not surprisingly, so-called millennials (born in the early 1980s to late 1990s) are most likely to engage in distracting activities while driving – 88 percent are affected. By contrast, the older generation of baby boomers (birth years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s) are a lot calmer – here they are 67 percent. Interestingly, as many as 37 percents of Millennials said they feel a high degree of pressure to respond to work-related messages while driving. The national average is only 25 percent.
Apple vs. Android in the car: iPhone users are easier to distract
But the real surprise hides in the system comparison. Because with any smartphone application, it is the iPhone users who are most distracted. Android users are actually more exemplary. For example, every 10th iPhone users stated that they actually watched YouTube videos while driving – unbelievable. On Android, however, only every 25th user does this. The distracting occupations broken down (first number Apple users, second number Android users):
- Copywriting: 51% / 35%
- Taking pictures: 33% / 23%
- Recording videos: 20% / 10%
- Video chat: 17% / 8%
- Search Facebook: 15% / 9%
- Browse Instagram: 12% / 4%
- Watch videos on YouTube: 10% / 6%
- Post on Instagram: 8% / 3%
- Netflix, Hulu etc .: 8% / 4%
At least for American standards, one must answer the initial question well and attest to these numbers that it is very likely that iPhone users are the greater danger for road traffic. Whether these results of the study, however, can be transferred here in India or anywhere in the world, is an open question.
The numbers are frightening, but mainly because Apple since iOS 11 with the function “Do not disturb when driving” has a function that can reduce such distractions. Thus, the iPhone automatically detects when the car is moving, switches among other things to mute and allows only in case of emergency averaging. Needless to say that the use of the smartphone at the wheel is punishable and depending on the country can be really expensive. However, this is not without exception for the US, here only some states require the use of a hands-free device. Which in turn explains the relatively high values of the study, which was carried out with American citizens alone.