If I were to ask which group of drivers you’d believe to be more distracted on the roads, either new teen drivers or new moms, which would you say? While you may automatically assume it’s teen drivers who have just recently received their licenses, you’d probably be as shocked as I was to find out that it was indeed new moms who are statistically the most distracted demographic among drivers on the road.
Now while this may seem odd at first, seeing as though ‘new mothers on the road’ is a bit of a stretch to categorize an entire of motorists, you’ll realize that this section of drivers plays a major role in our safety as motorists and are in fact a significant portion of drivers on the road. Yes, young, teen drivers who are new to the roadways place a great risk on everyone if they are texting while driving or have multiple people in the car (hence the high cost of Connecticut auto insurance), but new statistics reveal that new moms pose the greatest risk to drivers. Why? Well here’s the facts:
- Simply put, new moms aren’t getting enough sleep, and a fatigued driver is just as bad as a driver under the influence. It was revealed that new moms only receive about five hours of sleep a night, and that means hazy eyes and fogged minds while driving.
- Many new mothers surveyed said they can’t pay attention to the speed limit because of other distractions within the vehicle, namely a crying child, which also causes mom to turn around and tend to the child- while driving.
- Moreover, three out of four moms have admitted to using their phones to make calls or check messages/texts…while driving…with their child in the back seat. Tisk tisk.
Perhaps the worst part of this whole thing is that a whopping ten percent of new mothers on the road who were surveyed have gotten into an accident while their child was in the vehicle. Now why are we saying ‘whopping’ when it’s only ten percent? That’s because it’s THREE times higher than the rest of us on the road ways. So what then, can new moms do to be safer drivers and become less distracted with baby on board? Well you’ll just have to check back tomorrow to find out! In the mean time, give us a call today with any Connecticut auto insurance questions you have!