You Did WHAT Behind the Wheel? People Admit to Odd Behavior in New Distracted Driving Survey

Pop quiz: What percentage of drivers have brushed or flossed their teeth behind the wheel? While it’s crazy to think that anyone would floss their teeth while cruising down the highway, it’s just one distraction that people admitted to in a new distracted driving survey from Erie Insurance.

To recognize National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, Erie Insurance asked drivers what they do behind the wheel. Besides the obvious phone distractions of texting and talking, other distractions people admitted to ranged from public displays of affection to personal grooming to taking selfies.

“A distraction is anything that causes a driver to take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel, or their mind off their primary task of driving safely,” said Doug Smith, senior vice president, Personal Lines, at Erie Insurance. “Our survey found drivers unfortunately are engaging in a wide range of distracting and potentially dangerous behaviors.”

Check out this infographic that captures what goes on behind the steering wheel.

The survey found that texting while driving remains a serious problem, with about one-third of drivers (30 percent) saying they themselves have done it and three-quarters (75 percent) saying they’ve seen others do it.

According to U.S. government statistics, in 2012, more than 420,000 people were injured in car crashes involving distracted driving and more than 3,300 people were killed. In 2013, Erie Insurance analyzed police data and found that daydreaming was the most fatal distracted driving behavior behind the wheel.

“As a car insurance company who cares deeply about our customers, we want to do whatever we can to help people stay safe behind the wheel,” said Smith. “We hope that our survey will get people talking about the importance of eliminating distracted driving and keeping their focus on the road.”