Insurance marketplace EverQuote released the results of their 2017 Safe Driving Report. It shows that too many drivers are speeding and using their cell phones while driving.
The 2017 Safe Driving Report from EverQuote
EverQuote, a leading online insurance marketplace, released the results of their 2017 Safe Driving Report earlier this month. The report analyzed driving data from more than 2.7 million vehicle trips across 230 million miles driven. The data was collected between April 6, 2016 and March 6, 2017.
To retrieve the information, EverQuote used their EverDrive phone app that uses cell phone technology to measure and rank driving behavior. Here are the behaviors they looked at closely:
- Speeding: EverQuote's app recorded a "speeding event" if the car's speed exceeded the estimated "safe speed" of the road it was on.
- Phone Use: A phone use event was recorded if the following three conditions were met: (1) the phone was on and unlocked; (2) it was being moved in a way that signaled it was in a person's hand; and (3) the car was moving faster than a minimum speed.
- Hard Turns: The app flagged a hard turn event when the lateral acceleration of the vehicle exceeded a certain threshold over a qualifying period of time.
- Acceleration and Braking: Risky acceleration and hard braking events were also recorded. The EverDrive app was able to flag these events when the lengthwise acceleration of the vehicle exceeded a certain limit over a long enough time period.
EverQuote then ranked drivers on a 0-100-point scale based on those factors. Higher scores on the scale indicate safer driving habits.
The Results of the Study
Here is how drivers ranked on the 100-point scale on average in each of those categories.
- Speeding: 79
- Phone Use: 80
- Hard Turns: 86
- Hard Braking: 83
- Risky Acceleration: 85
- Overall: 79
Speeding and cell phone use are the two biggest areas of concern per the studies results. According to the 2017 Safe Driving Report, 92% of American drivers use their phone when behind the wheel.
Additionally, drivers in the U.S. received an average safe driving score of 79 out of 100. If this were a classroom and these were test scores, this means, on average, American drivers are "C" students when it comes to safe driving.
Let's take a look at some of the other troubling findings from EverQuote's report.
- At least one phone use event was flagged on 38% of all trips taken.
- 36% of drives involved speeding 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.
- Women drivers scored an average safety rating of 78, which edged out the men's score of 77.
- Unsurprisingly, older drivers scored better than our youngest motorists. Drivers up to the age of 21 received an overall safe driving rating of 74, while motorists 21 and older received a score of 78.
- When it comes to geographic regions, the Northeast was found to have the least safe driving habits on average. Drivers in the Northeast received a score of 75, which was below their counterparts in the South (80), West (82) and Midwest (83).
The Bottom Line
The results of EverQuote's report are troubling and eye-opening. We all need to step up to make the roads safer. Do yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road a favor and practice safer driving habits. Start by cutting out the speeding and putting your phone down.
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