Distraction is absolutely one of the most impactful causes on road accidents and one of the main reasons for our distraction to driving is him, the smartphone, which continues to be a significant problem in Italy. Writing messages, calling or even simply throwing the eye on notifications, create thousands of accidents and victims per year. We see it in this article through the Istat report on road accidents of 2024.
Road accidents in Italy 2024: data and statistics
In 2024 in Italy there were 173,364 road accidents, causing 233,853 injured and 3,030 deaths. It means 475 accidents and 8 victims per day. By focusing on the victims, the vast majority – about 40% – come from those traveling by car, about 30% of motorcycles and an important slice – 15% – from pedestrians, the so -called vulnerable victims of the road because they are rarely responsible for the accident.
An interesting fact is that, of the victims, only 20% are composed of women, which are mostly involved in accidents as passengers and non -drivers of the vehicle, while the largest slice – 80% – is composed of men. This figure is often explained by a greater risk propensity and tendency to a more reckless guide by male drivers.
Having said that, what are the main causes of these accidents?
How much does the smartphone really affect in accidents?
The absolute protagonist is her: the distracted guide. The accidents caused by our carelessness are 35,371, just under 100 per day, and represent 15.7% of the total. In second place, however, we have the failure to comply with precedence and road signs, with 13.5% of incidence, while in third place – with 8.3% – there is an excess of speed.
And the studies tell us that the main cause of driving distraction is precisely the use of the mobile phone. The literature in this regard is very wide, but we can focus on some data. According to the estimates reported by the report on the use of the phone at the helm of the European Union, it is estimated that in Europe 30% of drivers habitually use the phone while driving, in Australia about 60%, while in the United States we speak of 50% of the drivers.
Also in the United States, a study by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute tells us that 8% of accidents are caused by the use of the phone that can distract us in more ways: physically, if we call or write holding the phone in hand; Visual, if we throw the eye on a notification just arrived; But also and above all cognitive, if talking on the phone – even with the earphones – we shift attention from the road to the subject of the conversation. Talking on the phone can also alter our emotions, perhaps because of a heated discussion and this has an impact on our guide not only at the time of using the mobile phone, but also in the following moments and minutes.
According to the World Health Organization, using the phone increases by four times the probability of being involved in an accident, reduces by 30% our reaction times, brings us to sudden changes of speeds and compromises our decision -making skills. And it must be said that all studies find greater use of the phone and unconsciousness in this sense in young people between 18 and 30 years old.
Is distraction more impactful in the city or in suburban roads?
It is intuitive to think that the accidents due to the distraction take place mainly in the city, where the variables to consider are many, in addition to the vehicles there are pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, crossings with signs to be careful, but above all going slower it is logical to think that we allow ourselves more to distract ourselves with the phone.
And this is true in an absolute sense, but things change if we go to see the percentages of the causes of accidents. The point is that many more accidents take place in the city than the highway or extra -urban roads, in fact we speak of 70% of the total in the city against 30% outside the city. But if we zoom on the causes, in urban roads, distraction causes 13% of accidents. If, on the other hand, we look at the extra -urban roads, the inattention is absolutely the first cause of accident, and causes 22%.
This is because when we drive on the highway we have the impression of being less careful precisely because there are less variables, the road is all straight and there are less crossings. But a second distraction at 90 or 110 km/h is equivalent to 25-30 meters without looking at the road. And a small flag, can lead to the impact with a car that is equally fast, with drastic consequences.
And this tells us the numbers: although the accidents outside the city are only 30% of the total, the number of deaths on the highway represents more than 50% of the victims.
The number of accidents is decreasing: the trend over the years
However, it must be said that the number of victims on the road is constantly falling in recent years. Compared to 2010, deaths decreased by 25% and more than halved compared to 2001. Thanks to technological development, cars are in fact increasingly safe and this gives us an excellent signal. The goal of the European Union is to halve the number of deaths on the road by 2030, thanks to the improvement of infrastructures, awareness campaigns and acting on road laws.
However, there is an important fact that we can see: although the numbers have decreased in general, cases of isolated vehicle accident have increased in percentage. These are those accidents in which only one vehicle is involved, which loses control and skating, which went from 39% in 2001 to 42.3% in 2023. And this type of accident is often linked precisely to the carelessness and the use of the phone.
In short, less accidents in total, but distraction weighs more. And it is no coincidence: more technology in our phone, more possible distractions we have in our hands.
