I’ll tell you one thing; The number, severity and number of cars involved in accidents encountered in mt daily commute has gone up since the cell phone came along. In 1982 when I started there was a fender bender or sometimes 2, usually on 495. Now we get totaled cars, flipped cars,multi cars (a LOT of them) every damn day.
Two other factors enter the picture, though both probably involve phones as well. The vast increase in foreign drivers from countries where autos were only for the rich, and the huge growth of DC bedroom suburbs. Moms in mini-vans and huge SUVs chauffering squads of kids to daily activities texting or talking while trying to control kids. They just don’t focus on driving.
Listening to radio traffic coverage, the same locations of accidents are repeated almost on a daily basis. I can gauge the severity bythe number of sirens headed for the nearby hospital.
Thankfully, cars are very good at protecting the occupants, these days. Can you imagine the carnage if we were still driving around with lap belts and no airbags?