San Francisco Has A Distracted Driving Problem, Study Finds
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- A new study finds San Francisco County as a danger zone when it comes to distracted drivers. It also shows children are especially at risk.
Parents picking up their students at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School in San Francisco say they see people texting and driving every day.
Researchers say the school is surrounded by some of the city's -- and the country's -- most dangerous streets due to distracted and aggressive driving.
Parent Roland McCoy said, "You look over, you glance and you see someone phone in hand, head down, that sort of thing."
Parent Letisha Humphrey said, "Beause they're always on the phone, you pass by, you see them texting. I think its terrible. I have Bluetooth myself."
Humphrey says she isn't surprised to learn the school is one of the most dangerous places for distracted drivers in the country.
A new study by San Francisco startup Zendrive shows San Francisco is one of the worst places in the entire United States for distracted drivers.
Only New York City is worse.
In San Francisco, 162 of 345 schools received a failing grade according to Zendrive's study.
That's 47 percent of schools. Only two of San Francisco's schools received an A.
"We specifically looked at aggressive driving and distracted driving so things like talking on the phone, texting, hitting the break or the gas really hard," said Noah Budnick, Zendrive's public policy director.
He says San Francisco's low scores have a lot to do with it being a metropolitan area.
"We saw a lot more dangerous conditions around urban schools," he said.
The study analyzed more than 75,000 schools coast to coast.
The study revealed 88 percent of Americans admit to using their phones while driving
Bessie Carmichael schools are the fourth worst in the country for distracted drivers.
Humphrey said, "It would be nice if people would stay off their phones in the presence of children, they could be in danger."
