Despite the well-known dangers of distracted driving, the number of motorists who use mobile devices is on the rise again. The latest study from the California Office of Traffic Safety says 12-point-8 percent of drivers were observed using legal as well as illegal devices, up 3 and a half points from last year. Use had dropped a bit, from 2013 to 2014, according to Public Information Officer Chris Cochran…

click to listen to Chris Cochran

Cochran says the worst offenders are drivers in their teens and 20’s. The study says the number of California drivers involved in collisions in which distracted driving was a factor, with mobile device use a primary reason, continues to grow steadily…from 10,162 in 2013 to 11,090 in 2015. Meanwhile, Cochran says the Office of Traffic Safety supports technology that would prevent mobile device use while driving, except during emergencies. But it still has limitations…

click to listen to Chris Cochran

The study also finds that fewer drivers believe that talking or texting on a mobile device is a major safety problem. But the percentage of those who say they have been hit, or nearly hit, by a driver using a mobile device remains steady, at 60-percent.