You’re cruising down the highway with the radio on and you notice an alert on the cellphone perched in the passenger seat beside you. The overwhelming desire to pick it up kicks in. Do you pick it up and take a look? Dare you respond?

We’ve all seen the billboards and heard the radio ads pleading with us to ignore the notifications or even to pull over to send a text. Chances are you know of someone that was involved in a wreck that could have been avoided had the driver’s eyes actually been on the road. Yet somehow, despite the numerous public campaigns and countless advances in hands-free vehicle technology, drivers in the United States are no less distracted.

The National Safety Council estimates that in 2018, roughly 40,000 people lost their lives to car crashes. How many of those could have been avoided if the drivers were paying attention to the road instead of reading texts or checking emails?

The Risk Institute at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business wanted to know more about distracted drivers. In their online pilot survey some 386 respondents reported driving at least three times a week and owning a smartphone. Of notable interest, some of the main factors leading to distracted driving could be predicted by gender, overconfidence and positive attitudes towards cellphones.

From the gender related responses given, The Risk Institute concluded that men were more likely to use their phones while driving than women on residential streets, in traffic, in rain, in snow, at night, on the highway, and “while bored.” Women indicated a greater likeliness to use their phones in parking lots, during the day, and on empty streets.

While many indicated they never use their phones while driving, the research presented a much higher high rate of drivers that do. April kicks off Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The next time you reach for your phone while rolling down the road, consider the consequences. Is that text really worth your life? How about someone else’s?