A new study from Zendrive estimates that on an average day, more than 60% of people in the US use their phones at least once while driving.

This means nearly 69 million drivers use their phones when they are behind the wheel, significantly higher than the previous estimates of around 660,000 people by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The report titled ‘2018 Distracted Driving Snapshot’ is based on a study of driver’s phone usage from December 2017 to February 2018 and analysis of anonymised data from 4.5 million drivers.

It included phone use data when the driver is talking, texting or navigating on the phone in a moving vehicle. The study excluded phone use data when the vehicle is idle.

Zendrive CEO and co-founder Jonathan Matus said: “The data collected in our latest study reveals a great deal about the behaviour of drivers who use their phones when their eyes should be on the road.

“The data collected in our latest study reveals a great deal about the behaviour of drivers who use their phones when their eyes should be on the road.”

“If drivers can remember to send that last text, set their map destination, or cue up their favourite playlist before they back out of the driveway, they can help to keep the roads safer for everyone.”

Last year, Zendrive carried out a similar study to identify the behavioural patterns of the drivers.

Compared with the data collected for the 2017 report, the study found that distracted driving increased in every US state except Vermont.

The average time of phone use while driving was found to be three minutes and 40 seconds, an increase of ten seconds from 2017.

It also increased in all the cities and metropolitan areas that were studied.

The report also stated that the phone usage while driving is also on the rise in 16 states, which have banned using handheld phones when a person is behind the wheel.