U.S. Millennials Outpacing Euro Counterparts in Cell Phone Use

While 73% of western European Millennials say they use their cell phone when behind the wheel, a whopping 86% of Americans in the same demographic admit to doing so, according to a new study from Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Moreover, U.S. Millennial cell phone use while driving is approximately 30% higher than that of the average U.S. survey respondent.

Only 72% of U.S. Gen Xers and just 49% of U.S. Baby Boomers said they have used a cell phone behind the wheel. 

The global study found that U.S. Millennials consistently owned up to phone use and other dangerous driving habits at significantly higher rates than both their western European peers and U.S. survey respondents from other generations.

When comparing the two Millennial groups, 79% of the U.S. respondents say they glance at incoming calls and texts as compared with 65% of their western European peers. Moreover, 53% of U.S. Millennials admit to sending email or texts as compared to just 33% of western European Millennials.

Millennials don't fare much better when compared to their generational counterparts at home either.

For example, while 72% of U.S. Millennials say they glance at notifications on their cell phone, only 55% of U.S. Gen Xers and 31% of U.S. Boomers admit to the same.

While one-third (33%) of U.S. Millennials use social media apps while driving, just 15% of U.S. Gen Xers and 3% of U.S. Boomers say they engage in such practices.

The study also evaluated other dangerous driving behaviors and found significant generational differences.

In the U.S., 47% of Millennials admitted to driving aggressively versus 22% of Boomers. A majority of Millennials (63%) also said they multi-task behind the wheel, including eating or applying makeup, compared to only 54% of Generation X and 37% of Boomers.

Finally, the study explored American driving patterns versus those of western Europeans regardless of age. The findings indicate that Americans are driving dangerously and are doing so more often than their European counterparts.

For example, nearly half of U.S. drivers engage in dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding and multi-tasking versus 39% of western European motorists. In fact, over a third (38%) of U.S. respondents admit to regularly speeding compared to 30% of western Europe's drivers.