Most drivers are doing something with their phones while behind the wheel: study
Posted June 30, 2015 8:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We already know answering that phone call or text message while you’re on the road is a bad idea.
But it turns out many drivers are doing even dumber things in the middle of their chaotic commutes
Recent research from AT&T points out seven out of 10 drivers are doing something with their phones while behind the wheel.
Texting and emailing while driving lead the way.
Other unsettling findings show that two-thirds of us keep our phones within reach and almost a third of drivers think they can safely shoot videos behind the wheel.
Karen Bowman with anti-distracted-driving-group Drop It And Drive is shocked by the results. “You’d think the awareness of the risk would be enough. And for those people that it wasn’t enough for, the fine or the demerits would be enough. To see this report come out is honestly quite disheartening.”
As you might imagine, Facebooking and Twitter are also up there. A quarter of drivers use Facebook on phones while driving, one in seven admit to tweeting.
The AT&T research also found that just over a quarter of people think they can navigate their smart phone behind the wheel safely.
Bowman is disappointed people would think that. “I was always of the belief that if somebody truly understood the risk, that they got the fact that their choice behind the wheel could result in injury or death to themselves or somebody else, what person would continue with that behaviour? And this report just flies in the face of that.”
One in 10 of drivers also conduct video chats while driving, 17 per cent take selfies and 14 per cent are on Instagram.
A fifth of people who use social media while driving, say they can’t stop because they’re addicted.
