That is, in part, due to the near total disappearance of the manual transmission. The ability to drive one is now so rare that a manual is now actually a theft deterrent.
And with the right hand freed from shifting, it is now available full time for cell phone duty.
We often wonder if it’s partly because Driver Ed. is no longer taught in school. We all had to take it, and had the rules of the road, safety, etc. really pounded into us; and it didn’t cost our parents extra.
We had to practice changing a flat, and putting on tire chains, too.
-JT