Drivers enrolled in the Progressive Snapshot program (who voluntarily installed an app that monitors their driving habits) are spending >10% of time on their phones. For an average commute, that would be over 100 hours of phone-while-driving per year. I really hope this is the "bad group" and not a representative sample.
Radical proposal: These people should be incentivized straight off the road. They should lose their insurance and possibly their license.
Agree 100%... Getting caught using a phone while driving, should be punishable by a suspended 5-year prison sentence contingent upon completion of a 1 year smartphone ban. Get caught using anything other than a flip phone at any point during the next year and you have to serve the prison term.
I think no smartphone ban is a little harsh. It's needed for modern banking or interacting with government services or for job hunting or even work. Even the government hands out free smartphones via the Lifeline / "ObamaPhone" program
There's a PC alternative for all those. And even a computer free one.. at least in my EU country. To me it would not be a bad idea, and the governements should ensure it's still possible to do all those things without a smartphone.
Radical proposal: These people should be incentivized straight off the road. They should lose their insurance and possibly their license.