Distracted driving remains one of the most commonly identified road safety risks in Canada, with 60% of Canadians ranking it among their top concerns in a new national survey from Desjardins Insurance.
Results published July 22 were based on responses from nearly 4,000 Canadians surveyed in 2026.
Traffic, pedestrians and other activity outside the vehicle were cited as a source of distraction by 35% of respondents. Cellphones followed at 32%, while 26% identified technology inside the vehicle and 22% cited activities such as eating or drinking.
Federal collision data support distraction as a significant road safety concern, although other factors appear more frequently in fatal crashes. According to Transport Canada’s 2023 Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics, distraction contributed to an estimated 17.8% of fatal collisions. Speed or driving too fast contributed to 24.8%, while impairment was identified in 21.9%.
Speeding also produced one of the clearest gaps between attitudes and behaviour in the Desjardins results. While 85% of respondents recognized speeding as a major risk, 26% said exceeding the speed limit was acceptable.
Stress and fatigue were also common, with 49% of respondents saying they frequently feel stressed or tired while driving. Transport Canada identified fatigue as a contributing factor in 3.3% of fatal collisions in 2023. The federal figures are based on reports from a subset of provinces and territories and can include more than one contributing factor for the same collision.
Risky behaviour by other motorists was widely reported. Aggressive driving was frequently observed by 68% of respondents. Alcohol-impaired driving was reported by 19%, while 24% said they had witnessed cannabis-impaired driving.
Those figures do not measure the actual prevalence of impaired driving. Statistics Canada recorded 53,708 alcohol-impaired driving incidents in 2025, compared with 6,202 drug-impaired driving incidents and 4,796 incidents involving both alcohol and drugs. The police figures do not separate cannabis from other drugs and are therefore not directly comparable with the Desjardins responses, but they show alcohol-related offences remain far more common in police-reported data.
“Canadians are navigating distraction, stress and constant external demands all at once,” said Valérie Lavoie, president and chief operating officer of Desjardins General Insurance Group.
Lavoie called for stronger awareness, education and measures aimed at reducing road risk.
The publicly available Desjardins release does not identify the polling company, exact fieldwork dates, sampling method or margin of error.
