Imagine this: You’re driving home for the holidays, excited to see family and friends. Suddenly, a distracted driver swerves into your lane.

It’s a chilling thought, and unfortunately, the statistics paint a worrying picture. The UK’s National Safety Council suggests that an average of 345 people die in traffic crashes each year during the three-day Christmas holiday period. A further 39,300 will be injured as a result of dangerous driving.

But what exactly is causing this increase in risk? Our data reveals some surprising trends.

Distracted Driving: A Holiday Problem

For the last 3 years, CMT’s data in Europe shows how distracted behaviour patterns radically change over the Christmas period.

• Screen interaction on the rise: While 2023 showed a slight reduction in the share of journeys with “screen interaction” – phone use while driving at speed – the risky behaviour jumped by 10% on Christmas Day. On that day, 60% of trips taken by connected insurance drivers included at least one instance of screen interaction.
• Hands-free calling down: Interestingly, the opposite happened with hands-free calls. Screen interaction requires more visual and cognitive attention, increasing crash risks, particularly with heavier traffic and potential bad weather during the holiday season. Hands-free calling is legal in many European countries and is expected to require less cognitive load on the driver. While still dangerous, it is a safer way to make a phone call while driving. On Christmas Day, the share of journeys including hands-free calling dropped by 15% (it dropped by 21% in 2022).

Clearly, people change their habits over Christmas. They drive to different places, use their phones for different reasons, at different times of the day, making the risk on the road greater. This is especially concerning when you consider that during the same period, the share of journeys with at least one dangerous speeding event jumps by 66%.

Time Spent Distracted Skyrockets on Christmas

The problem isn’t just that more trips have screen interaction. Drivers spend more time with their phones as well. Compounded by the weekend, the figures are shockingly high, with drivers spending an average of 1 minute per driving hour interacting with their phones. On Christmas Day, the length of the distraction jumps by 40%.

Weekends tend to be more distracted, but as the chart below shows, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are outliers, with a severe ramp-up in driver distraction.

Over the last 3 years, the overall trend of phone use while driving has decreased. However, during Christmas, the change in behaviour towards more distracted driving has accelerated. Distraction jumped by 27% in 2021, 29% in 2022 and 40% in 2023.

As with the share of distracted driving, the amount of time spent talking hands-free while driving at speed was cut by half on Christmas Day.

So this Christmas, let’s all make a conscious effort to stay safe on the roads. Remember to:

• Put your phone away: Avoid any temptation to text, use apps, or make calls while driving.
• Plan your routes in advance: Knowing where you’re going will help you avoid distractions and last-minute decisions.
• Be mindful of increased traffic: Expect delays and be patient with other drivers.
• Be prepared for winter weather: Adjust your driving to the conditions and allow extra time for your journey.

By following these simple tips, we can all help make the roads safer this holiday season.