Is it some kind of compulsion, or do we just not care?

According to a March 26 report, while 90 percent of Americans agree that texting and driving should be illegal, more than 90 percent of drivers still use their phones in the car.

Simply Insurance collected 2019 driving data from more than 1,400 Americans aged 18-60 and compared that against data from previous years about the connection between cellphone use and traffic deaths.

The upshot is that Americans, despite knowing risks, continue to risk lives by using cellphones while driving (even in states which ban it).

According to the report:

- More than 88 percent of drivers use their smartphone while driving, up to 3.5 minutes per hour.

- It only takes a second — 1 in 4 car accidents in the U.S. is caused by texting and driving, or 1.6 million crashes each year.

- Three in four Americans seem to find texting more important than road safety, with 69 percent admitting they text and drive. That doesn’t change when someone else is in the car with them.

Drivers aren’t the only ones playing it unsafe. Other statistics in the report include:

- Half of Americans don’t look both ways anymore when crossing a street, relying on stop lights as a primary defense against being hit by a car.

- And 92 percent of drivers say they’ve seen someone crossing a crosswalk while looking down at their cellphones.

Americans’ second-favorite driving distraction is eating or drinking. Ninety percent of drivers said they drink beverages while driving, and 81 percent said they eat while driving. Add texting and makeup, and it’s a wonder we look at the road at all.

That leaves 1 in 10 Americans who approach driving safely. In 2019, only 10 percent of drivers said they absolutely would not touch their phone while driving.

When the risks are so obvious and the stakes so high, it’s hard to understand why we still do it.

In North Idaho, rarely does a commute take more than 15 minutes. Would it be the end of the world if we just waited to read and reply? Why can’t we control ourselves?

Either we just stopped caring, or this idea of phone addiction has merit after all.

For more information on the study, see bit.ly/2PLtWiO.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist with the Hagadone News Network who admits to letting Siri text and drive. Is that better? Sholeh@cdapress.com.