Could insurance discounts motivate drivers to put their phones away?

Distracted driving has surpassed drunk driving as consumers’ number one safety concern on the road, according to a recent survey by Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT).

Sixty-three percent of respondents to the U.S.-based survey said they had a greater fear of distracted drivers on the roads than they did of intoxicated drivers, while 75% said they see people using their phones behind the wheel every single day.

“These numbers illustrate the severity of the distracted driving epidemic, and highlight the urgent need for a new approach that combats distracted driving through technology and consumer incentives to motivate behavior modification,” CMT co-founder and chief scientist Sam Madden said in a news release.

CMT says laws against cellphone use proved to be less of an incentive to reduce distracted driving than receiving discounts from insurance providers—something that 79% of respondents said would encourage them to be on their best behavior.\

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