A new study has concluded phone addicts are the new drunk drivers.
The study was conducted by Zendrive and detailed in a report by Axios.
"Last year, 6,227 pedestrians lost their lives to the hands of drivers who were most likely driving under the influence of a smartphone," the study said. "On a national level, drivers are 10 percent more distracted this year than last. And from out under the shadows, phone addicts have positioned themselves as public enemy number one, replacing drunk drivers as the ultimate threat on public roads."
It noted "phone addicts are glued to their phones, so they are more districted, more dangerous and more likely to cause a crash."
It found "phone addicts" actively ignore the road 28% of the time they are driving and are on the road 1.5 more times than the general population.
"We found that while people are almost universally aware that distracted driving is incredibly dangerous, those same people largely dismiss their own contributions to the problem," Zendrive CEO Jonathan Matus told Axios. "Almost all our respondents thought they were safe drivers, but were willing to admit that they use their phones in the car all the time, signaling a cognitive disconnect between knowing the risks and taking action."