“Frightening results”: 8% of motorists and 14% of truck drivers hold their phones in their hands while driving on the motorway, according to a study published this Friday, based on an observation of drivers immersed in traffic. In May and June, observers from Cerema (Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Planning), for the Association of French Motorway Companies (AFSA), crisscrossed five sections of highways: they noted that the drivers of 799 of the 7,399 vehicles crossed “distinctly” held a telephone in their hand.
This study, based on an observation of drivers in traffic and not on their declarations like most of those previously carried out in the field, is however “probably not able to fully reveal the proportion of users indulging in the traffic. ‘writing or reading messages,’ note its authors. Indeed, the offense being only characterized “when the observer sees distinctly the telephone device held in hand by the driver”, other dangerous uses are not counted.
65% of drivers surveyed say they interact with a screen while driving
Among them are users “who strum or read videos on their phones placed next to them, on their knees or hung on the dashboard, those who use a hands-free kit”, the use of which is illegal, explains Christophe Boutin, general delegate of ASFA. The Association brings together the private concessionaires managing 9,180 of the 12,000 kilometers of French motorways.
A specific observation on the A1 motorway showed that in addition to truck drivers holding their phones in their hands, 13% were not looking at the road because they were looking at a screen. In total, one in four truck drivers was therefore inattentive on this route, according to the survey. Result: on a Paris-Lille trip “a motorist will pass on average 200 truck drivers” not looking at the road.
The study also does not take into account the use of distractors other than the telephone, mainly aid to navigation systems (GPS). According to a Harris Interactive poll for ASFA published in July 2020, 65% of drivers surveyed (70% of men and 79% of those under 35) reported interacting with a screen while driving.