According to the study, 61% ofrespondents say they respond to texts, emails and calls whiledriving because there may be an emergency. Roughly a quarter (23%)say they pick up the phone in fear of missing out on something.(Photo: Shutterstock)

Summertime: school is out, children are at play, and for somereason or another, distracted driving is at its peak, as newresearch from Travelers and TrueMotion shows.

In their study, researchers at TrueMotion, aleading smartphone telematics platform, analyzed the behavior ofmore than 20,000 drivers from January 2017 to May 2018. The resultsfound that drivers spent less time looking at the road and moretime looking at their phones during the months of June, July andAugust, more than any other time of the year.

With this information in hand, experts at Travelers are workingto warn drivers about the increased risks of distracteddriving.

Related: Even parents with kids in the car can't stoptexting and driving

By the numbers

As technology develops, new cars are made safer year after year.Despite this adoption of safer technologies, vehicular deathscontinue to rise. A major explanation for this is distracteddriving, which Rafi Finegold, VP of Product and Experience atTrueMotion, says is an obvious takeaway fromthe data study.

Travelers and TrueMotion research found that onaverage, nearly 40% of drivers are distracted for 15 minutes ormore per hour driven during the summer. The study results also found that nearly 10% moredistracted driving happens in summer through June, July and Augustthan any other season.

Many employees (43%) say they respond to work-relatedcommunications (phone calls or emails); 38% say they always need tobe available for their bosses, making this a big issue foremployees and employers.

(Photo: Travelers)

Related: 5 best practices to fight the effects of distracteddriving

Why are we so distracted?

So, why can't the phone wait?

According to the study, 61% of respondents say they respond totexts, emails and calls while driving because there may be anemergency. Roughly a quarter (23%) say they pick up the phone infear of missing out on something.

What's interesting is that 85% of respondents acknowledge thatdriving while using personal technology is risky, but 25 % say theybelieve they can do so safely.

To explain the rise in distracted driving in the summer months,Finegold offers two hypotheses. One is a change in demographicprofiles on the road. School's out, and more high schoolers andyounger drivers, who are statistically a moredangerous demographic, are more active on our roadways.

The second hypothesis Finegold suggests focuses on a change intravel patterns. More drivers are going on vacations andday trips with more passengers in the car, breaking away from theirtypical routine, and taking alternate, unfamiliar routes.

Related: Cell phone users twice as likely to be involved ina crash, study finds

Every second matters

Vehicular deaths are the number one cause of death of youngpeople in the United States, and distracted driving continues to bea major contributor to these fatalities.

Looking at the numbers, Woodward says she and her colleagues atTravelers were extremely concerned about the continued increase inpolicy prices and vehicular deaths related to distracted driving.In an effort to save lives and spread awareness, Travelerslaunched its Every Second Matters campaign in thesummer of 2017 to combat distracted driving.

The initiative of Every SecondMatters recognizes that every driver, passenger andpedestrian has a role to play in changing social norms arounddistraction. The campaign's mission is to drive change with dataand research through its many partnerships,and to empower others to drive and walk present.

"The bottom line reason why we've taken this on is because thefatality rates are through the roof," says Joan Woodward,executive vice president of Public Policy at Travelers andpresident of the Travelers Institute.

"Pedestrian fatalities are also through the roof. There's atoxic mix of both distracted drivers and distracted pedestriansthat can intersect to create deadly accidents. Almost6,000 pedestrians died in vehicular accidents last year. It is acrisis."

Through its partnership with TrueMotion, Travelers offersdetailed analysis and resources on distracted drivingon the company's website.

Related: Distracted driving by the numbers