The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV), today released “Every Second Matters®: Reducing Distracted Driving, One Voice at a Time,” an educational guide published in partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics company.

“The guide highlights new statistics that show how risky driving behaviors, such as speeding and texting behind the wheel, accelerated during the pandemic,” said Joan Woodward, President of the Travelers Institute and Executive Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers. “Throughout the report, we provide an eye-opening account of the dangers of distraction and arm drivers with important resources for staying safe on the road.”

The Every Second Matters guide outlines steps motorists can take to improve their driving habits, including:

• Adopt a professional driver’s mindset: Hands on wheel, eyes on road, mind on driving.
• Don’t be a distraction: According to the 2022 Travelers Risk Index, nearly 80% of drivers make or take calls while driving, so avoid becoming the distraction – don’t call or text employees, family members and friends while they are on the road.
• Activate “Do Not Disturb”: Use this setting while driving to silence notifications and avoid distractions.
• Speak up: Let risky drivers know of their dangerous behavior and encourage others to do the same when they are passengers in a car.
• Get feedback: Consider enrolling in a telematics program that provides feedback as well as incentives for driving safely.

The report also highlights the benefits of telematics programs. Data from CMT shows that drivers who open their telematics app more than three times a week are 65% safer and 57% less distracted than those who don’t.

“Telematics programs are changing behaviors and reducing distractions on the road,” said Ryan McMahon, Senior Vice President of Strategy at CMT. “By joining a telematics program, drivers are learning about their habits and improving roadway safety for all. Consumers are seeing these benefits, and telematics programs are more popular than ever as a result.”

Other key findings from CMT include:

• More than 35% of car trips involve some type of phone distraction.
• More than 35% of distracted driving happens over 50 mph.
• The most distracted drivers are 2.2 times more likely to crash than the least distracted drivers.

Through the Every Second Matters distracted driving education initiative, the Travelers Institute publishes materials and hosts events that encourage drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians to play an active role in changing roadway behaviors.

To learn more about the Travelers Institute and read the Every Second Matters educational guide, visit travelersinstitute.org.

About Cambridge Mobile Telematics

Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make the world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell®, gathers sensor data from millions of IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices — and fuses them with contextual data to create a unified view of vehicle and driver behavior. Companies from personal and commercial auto insurance, automotive, rideshare, smart cities, wireless, financial services, and family safety industries use insights from CMT’s platform to power their risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement programs. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with offices in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle and Tokyo, CMT serves millions of people through 80 programs in 18 countries, including 21 of the top 25 US auto insurers. For more information, visit cmtelematics.com.

About the Travelers Institute

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers’ senior management as well as the technical expertise of many of Travelers’ underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit Travelers.com.

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