Gadgets cause 25% of all U.S. car accidents, report says

The Governors Highway Safety Association has released a report suggesting that driving distractions such as cell phones and other electronic devices cause as much as 25% of all U.S. car accidents. The report summarizes distracted driving research from 2000 to January 2011. Download the repot here (pdf)

GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha said:

Despite all that has been written about driver distraction, there is still a lot that we do not know. Much of the research is incomplete or contradictory. Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it.

Bottom line: Scientific research on distracted driving – compiled and released by the Governors Highway Safety Association in July 2011 – suggests that as many as 25% of all U.S. car accidents occur when the driver is using a cell phone or other electronic device.