More distracted driving laws, more distracted driving - Especially in South Florida
Bottom Line: Here's the biggest non-surprise yet... Increased texting while driving and related laws haven't helped curb distracted driving. Within the past decade 47 states, including Florida, have passed bans on texting while driving and 15 states have banned handheld use of a phone while driving. Despite that widespread action to combat distracted driving, we've never had more of it on our roads.
According to Zendrive 60% of all drivers engage in some form of distracted driving involving a phone daily (when they drive)
Per hour of driving these drivers use their phones and average of 3 minutes and 40 seconds per hour (or just over 6% of the time they're driving)
Distracted driving is up 6.8% year over year
To further illustrate the point that increased distracted driving laws haven't worked...Washington state passed the toughest related laws in the country and distracted driving rose 37% last year in the state! Closer to home the news wasn't good either. Miami's metro including much of SFL, had the 2nd highest level of distracted driving in the country (Houston is worst). If you're looking for a silver lining, Florida does have below average distracted driving generally - we rank 39th overall.
This once again illustrates a point I've long made. Texting while driving, etc. is distracted driving. Passing more laws and stricter laws are little more than feel-good measures. Simply placing greater emphasis on existing distracted driving incidents by law enforcement would be more effectual than continuing to pass even more laws that have proven to be ineffectual everywhere they're tried.