Survey: Distracted driving on the rise

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A new survey by insurance company State Farm finds the number of people driving distracted by their smart phones has increased dramatically since 2009.

The online survey of 1,000 drivers nationwide found drivers between the ages of 18-29 used the internet 48 percent of the time while driving. That is up from 29 percent in 2009. 21 percent of drivers in the same age group read social media sites while driving in 2009.  That number jumped to 36 percent in 2012.

"It's as tragic as it gets," said Austin attorney Len Gabbay, who represents victims in distracted driving crashes. "It's as bad as drunk driving.  It's as bad and it's as preventable as drunk driving"

The survey also found that of all drivers surveyed, 21 percent admitted to accessing the internet while driving in 2012, which is up from 13 percent in 2009.

"Anyone driving on Mopac or 35 or anywhere in town, you see driver after driver using their cell phones, texting on their cell phones while driving so that tells me that the laws are not being enforced enough," said Gabbay.

In the three years since a city ordinance outlawed texting and driving in Austin, officers have handed out just over 500 tickets for the offense.

Gabbay believes stiffer civil and criminal penalties are the only way to reverse the trend in the numbers and he said that can start with juries.

"You have the ability to say that in Travis County, we're not going to take it," he said.

Some smart phone service providers will send an automatic text reply if you're driving, just one of several emerging technologies aimed at preventing distracted driving.