A new University of Michigan survey finds many parents are distracted behind the wheel.
The U-M researchers surveyed more than 600 parents to find out what distractions they face while driving with their children.
Researchers were particularly interested in technological distractions: talking on the phone, texting, surfing the internet, changing CD’s and DVD’s, and getting directions from a navigation device. In the study, almost 90 percent of parents reported using at least one technology-based distraction while driving their children in the past month. Most drivers admitted to engaging in up to four distractions.
It probably does not come as a surprise that drivers who reported distracting behaviors were more likely to report having ever been in a crash.
One of the researchers says reducing distracted driving among parents would improve safety for children under 12.
