EverQuote Safe Driving Report Shows Positive Impact Among States with Distracted Driving Laws

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EverQuote Inc., a leading insurance marketplace in the U.S. connecting consumers with insurance providers and developer of the social safe-driving app, EverDrive, today launched its second annual EverDrive Safe Driving Report, which found that although phone use while driving continues to be a national issue, there is positive correlation between distracted driving laws and reduced phone use.

The EverDrive Safe Driving Report 2018, which coincides with the National Safety Council's National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, aims to increase awareness of the dangers of distracted driving along with other common risky driving behaviors including speeding, hard braking, hard turning and aggressive acceleration.

EverDrive users logged 781 million miles in 2017 and EverQuote analyzed the year's data to produce this report. The report reveals driving data from 2017 across five categories: speeding, phone use, hard braking, hard turning and aggressive acceleration. EverQuote found on average that U.S. drivers use their phones on more than a third (37%) of trips. During trips with phone use, the average drive time was 29 minutes and drivers spent more than three minutes on their phones.

While distracted driving is a tragic epidemic claiming the lives of thousands each year, according to the Center for Disease Control, EverQuote found a positive correlation between distracted driving laws and reduced phone use behind the wheel. Four of the five states where drivers had the least amount of phone use while driving -- Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- have three distracted driving laws in place: a hand-held cell phone ban, texting and driving ban, and a ban on all cell phone use for novice drivers.

"There's no one-size-fits-all approach to end distracted driving," said Seth Birnbaum, CEO & Co-Founder of EverQuote. "However, we believe that our safe driving app, EverDrive, is one type of technology that can help curb distracted driving. Using apps like EverDrive that monitor and record unsafe driving behavior create more aware drivers and, ultimately, we hope that awareness spurs change. Additionally, we believe that pairing this type of technology with stricter distracted driving laws could help reduce phone use while driving."

Additional findings from the 2018 EverDrive Safe Driving Report show:

• Midwesterners are the safest drivers. Drivers in Midwestern states have the highest safe-driving scores in the country. Drivers in Northeastern states have the lowest -- also for the second year in a row.
• There's not a big gender gap when it comes to safe driving. Overall, men and women scored similarly. Men speed slightly more than women: On 40% of their trips versus 38% of women's. Women use their phones while driving slightly more than men: On 42% of their trips versus 38% of men's trips.
• Young adult drivers age 18 to 20 use their phones on nearly half of trips (47%). Younger drivers age 17 or under use their phones on 43% of trips. Drivers age 21 and over use their phones on 38% of trips.
• Speeding is the most common unsafe driving habit, but phone use while driving is a close second. Drivers speed on 38% of trips and use their phones on 37% of trips.

The top five states with the best driving habits are:

• Montana and Wyoming - Both states have an overall an overall score of 89.4 out of 100. Montana drivers also had the lowest percent of trips with speeding (19%).
• South Dakota - South Dakota ranked third with an overall score of 88.2 out of 100. For South Dakota drivers, 33% of trips included cell phone use and 20% had speeding.
• Alaska and Idaho - Drivers in these states had overall safe driving scores of 87.2 and 87.1 out of 100, respectively.

The five states with the worst driving habits were:

• Connecticut and Rhode Island- Drivers in these states had overall scores of 71.6 and 71.7 out of 100, respectively. The Constitution State slipped down a spot from its 49th ranking last year. EverDrive data shows that Connecticut drivers have 34% of trips with cell phone use and 56% of trips with speeding. Rhode Island driver have 39% of trips with cell phone use and 56% of trips with speeding.
• Pennsylvania - Keeping the same ranking as last year, Pennsylvania ranks 48th this year with an overall driving score of 74.7 out of 100, with 37% of trips with cell phone use and 49% of trips with speeding.
• Delaware and Maryland - Drivers in the First State had an overall driving score of 76.1 out of 100, with 40% of trips with cell phone use and 51% of trips with speeding. Drivers in the Old Line State also had an overall score of 76.1 out of 100, with 38% of trips with cell phone use and 51% of trips with speeding.

To read more findings, see the 2018 EverDrive Safe Driving Report.

About EverQuote 
Founded in 2011, EverQuote, Inc. operates the largest online marketplace for insurance shopping in the United States. The company's goal is to reshape insurance shopping for consumers and improve the way insurance providers attract and connect with customers as insurance shopping continues to shift online. With over 10 million consumer visits per month, EverQuote's results-driven marketplace, powered by the company's proprietary data and technology platform, matches and connects consumers seeking to purchase insurance with relevant options from our broad direct network of insurance providers, saving consumers and providers time and money. For more information, visit EverQuote.com and follow on Twitter @EverQuoteInsure

Methodology
EverQuote analyzed 781 million miles of driving data from 2017 from EverQuote's safe-driving driving app, EverDrive.

The EverDrive app derives measurements from several components inside a phone, including: GPS, accelerometer, device screen on/off and gyroscope. The app measures and ranks driving skills, from 0 to 100, based on the following factors:

• Speeding: A speeding event is recorded if the vehicle's speed exceeds the estimated safe speed of the road. Of note, speed limits vary in different states and states with better speeding scores may in fact be driving faster than drivers in other states.
• Phone use: A phone event is recorded if the following three conditions are all true:
• Screen is on and unlocked
• The phone is being moved in a way that indicates it is in a person's hand
• The vehicle is moving faster than a minimum speed
• Hard acceleration/hard braking: These events are flagged when the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle is moving faster than a minimum speed.
• Hard turning: Hard-turning events are flagged when the lateral acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a certain threshold over a sufficiently long period.

Media Contact:
Ryan Ruffing
[email protected] 
(617) 206-6561

SOURCE EverQuote, Inc.

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