Many Canadians who drive distracted think it's safe behaviour: survey

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“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function,” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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But according to a recent survey released by online insurance finder ratesdotca, too many drivers consider themselves to have that first-rate intelligence when, in fact, the opposite is true.

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Many Canadians who drive distracted think it's safe behaviour: survey Back to video

“[D]rivers who report engaging in certain distracted driving behaviours, 74 per cent do not consider themselves doing so, because they believe it’s safe,” the survey suggests. It’s not me, apparently. It’s the other guy.

Let’s be clear: when you’re driving, you need 100 per cent of your attention on the road 100 per cent of the time. Your hands need to be on the wheel; you have to know what’s happening in front of you, down the road, behind you and beside you. It’s why you have so many mirrors, sensors, cameras, and warning devices. If you multi-task while you’re making eggs, you might break a yolk. Do it while you’re driving, and you might run into a pedestrian.

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And yet, from the survey:

·       Just over one in 10 text or instant message on a hand-held device while driving, but 43 per cent of those believe it is a safe practice;

·       Nearly eight in 10 (79 per cent) admit drinking coffee or water while driving, and 78 per cent of those believe it is a safe practice;

·       25 per cent make phone calls on a hand-held device, but 49 per cent of those believe it is a safe practice; and

·       three per cent watch a video on a hand-held device while driving, and 57 per cent of those believe it is a safe practice.

We’ve been eating and drinking in cars forever (though the appearance of common cupholders is only a few decades old). It doesn’t make it risk-free – you have to glance down to grab it, and when it spills, all bets are off – but peel out that old-school distraction and we’re at the nut of what is truly the most dangerous action we are taking: over 10 per cent are texting, handheld phone calls are being made by 25 per cent, and three per cent are watching videos.

You have to be cautious reading the results of self-reported behaviours in these surveys. Most people adjust their halo before marking their answer. We’re being shown some scary admissions of dangerous driving habits, followed by the belief of most of them that’s it’s just fine. They are noting it is bad behaviour in drivers around them, but 74 per cent believe when they do it’s no biggie.

Sorry, F. Scott. I gotta go with it being an addle-brained idiot who gets behind the wheel of a car, scrolls up some Tik Tok videos, and hits the road declaring everyone else around them a danger.