Canadians more worried than ever about texting and driving
A Canadian Automobile Association poll finds an overwhelming majority of Canadians think texting and driving is getting worse, despite moves by law enforcement to crack down and extensive public education efforts. More than four out of five Canadians (83%) believe texting while driving is a bigger problem today than it was three years ago.
"Despite anti-texting and driving laws in all provinces across the country and several years of public education campaigns, Canadians still don't seem to be getting the message," says Jeff Walker, Chief Strategy Officer, CAA National.
Texting and driving is tied with drunk driving as the #1 road safety concern among Canadians, according to CAA's poll. A whopping 96% say that drivers who text and drive are a threat to their personal safety on the road. CAA has been tracking what worries Canadians when it comes to road safety for several years. Texting while driving broke into the top 10 list of concerns in 2011. Almost seven years later, Canadians' view on the danger of texting and driving continue to get worse.
"Studies show drivers are as much as 23 times more likely to get into a collision when they text and drive," says Walker. "It's important we all put our devices down and stay focused on the road."
Canadians also believe other forms of distraction are increasingly an issue, such as emailing while driving, drivers talking on cell phones and drivers talking to/engaging with their in-car technologies.
Findings are based on a CAA poll of 2,003 Canadians carried out in November. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.19%, 19 times out of 20.
