A higher percentage of drivers admit to texting behind the wheel than grooming while driving in a new iSeeCars.com survey.

If you asked a friend what they do while they are behind the wheel of their car, they will most likely give you a simple answer, “drive.” Of course that’s true, but what else are they doing? We see dangerous driving everyday. Drivers going above the speed limit or fiddling with phones, eating a burger, shaving or applying make-up. U.S. government statistics show in 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver[i], and there were 9,944 speeding-related fatalities.[ii]

iSeeCars decided to drilldown into this behavior and ask drivers, besides actually driving, what they are doing behind the wheel.

The U.S. government cites texting as the most “alarming” form of distracted driving because it requires the driver’s visual, physical, and cognitive attention. Perhaps not surprisingly, only a small percentage (5.1%) of respondents to the iSeeCars survey say they drive and text or email since it is illegal to do so in 41 states.

Other datapoints:

There were more responses from men (23.2%) acknowledging that they drive above the speed limit than women (15.4%) A greater percentage of women (17.2%) talk on the phone while behind the wheel than men (15.5%) The greater availability of public transportation could play a role in the fact that respondents in urban areas were the highest percentage answering “none of the above,” and the lowest percentage in every other category. Respondents 25-34 years old were the highest percentage of any age group saying they speed, eat, talk on the phone and text/email behind the wheel. They were also the lowest percentage answering “none of the above.”

About iSeeCars.com:

[i] http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

[ii] http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811751.pdf

iSeeCars.com is a data-driven car search and research company that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, including the iSeeCars VIN Check report and Best Cars Rankings. iSeeCars has saved users over $406 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.