New safety research reveals a striking discrepancy between recorded distracted driving incidents and actual behavior, with telematics data capturing significantly more instances of phone use behind the wheel than police reports ever document. By analyzing nearly 17,000 linked crash cases, the study highlights how underreported phone-related distractions may pose a greater risk on roads than official statistics suggest. The findings raise questions about enforcement gaps and the true scale of a dangerous but often overlooked driving hazard. Experts may now face pressure to re-evaluate how distracted driving is tracked and addressed in traffic safety policies.
IIHS research using nearly 17,000 linked crashes shows telematics flagging far more phone use than police paperwork ever records.
