Distracted Driving Down In Washington, AAA Survey Finds

SEATTLE — More Washington drivers are putting their phones down and paying attention to the road than just a few years ago, according to a recent statewide survey by AAA.

The travel firm enlisted researchers to hear from 1,000 Washington drivers, ages 16 and up, who had valid licenses and drove at least 10 miles per week. Overall, the key takeaways show a positive trend in cutting down on behavior that is both illegal and contributes to more than a quarter of deadly crashes in Washington.

"Three years ago, AAA launched a campaign bringing attention to distracted driving, showing how the consequences of texting and driving are similar to drinking and driving — deaths and serious injuries," said Kelly Just, manager of AAA Washington's traffic safety program. "In this new research, we see our public awareness campaign is working! More and more of us are choosing to put down our phones while driving — currently 82 percent of Washington drivers. That's up from 69 percent in AAA's 2018 distracted driving survey."

Participating drivers answered a short series of questions during an online survey in November, and researchers noted a significant drop in the percentage of people who said they held their phone while driving and an uptick in the use of hands-free devices.

When asked what factors influenced drivers from handling their phones on the road, more than half of those surveyed pointed to children and passengers asking them to stop because they did not feel safe in their vehicles. Others pointed to crash scene images and accounts from people who had caused crashes or survived them.

When asked about specific behaviors over the prior month, AAA found double-digit decreases across the board compared with 2018, including a 46 percent decline in drivers sending texts while driving.

AAA's latest study arrives during Distracted Driving Awareness Month, as multiple law enforcement agencies participate in a regional effort to further reduce dangerous behavior on Washington roads.

While statewide distracted driving rates have fallen to around their pre-pandemic levels, officials said nearly 30 percent of deadly car crashes involved at least one distracted driver. Even with the downward trend, Washington saw nearly 18,000 crashes related to distracted driving in 2021.

State troopers and several Pierce County law enforcement agencies will be deployed through April specifically on the lookout for drivers with their eyes off the road. Washington law broadly prohibits the use of mobile devices without hands-free equipment, except when used to call 911.