Nearly 30% of Mobile Phone Users Text While Driving: Study

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Anyone who’s read my posts for a while knows that I’m in favor of bans of texting and emailing while driving, though I will admit to engaging in the activity myself.

On Wednesday Vlingo, a firm specializing in voice recognition technology, specifically for the mobile market, released a report called “Consumer Text Messaging Habits.”

The report provides some interesting insights into the habits of Americans who text (defined as text messaging, instant messaging, or emailing) while driving.

In the emailed press release describing the report, Dave Grannan, CEO of vlingo said:

“In this data what we see is an approaching tidal wave of a public policy and safety issue. Text messaging has become an integral part of how younger generations communicate, and right now their behavior and attitudes suggest that 50 percent will be driving and texting. This problem is only going to get worse and we need to develop public policies and technologies to address this challenge.”

I’d agree, despite the fact I participate in the activity myself. Texting while driving has even been linked as a possible reason behind some fatal crashes. Interesting data from the report:

Overall, 55 percent of respondents send text messages, and 28 percent admit to driving while texting. Among respondents, 78 percent believe DWT should be illegal. The report also uncovered the following:

• 85 percent of respondents say they would not DWT if it were illegal.
• 78 percent of all surveyed think DWT should be illegal.
• 85 percent of teens and young adults (those 13-29) send text messages, and just over 50 percent of those ages 16-29 admit to DWT.

In terms of states with the best and worst records for texting while driving:

The five states with the highest percentage of respondents who admit to DWT are:

1. South Carolina (worst record)
2. Tennessee
3. Georgia
4. Maryland
5. Louisiana

The five states with the lowest percentage of respondents who DWT are:

1. Arizona (best record)
2. Maine
3. Vermont
4. New Hampshire
5. Delaware

I’m totally shocked that California wasn’t among the worst states, particularly when I see so many of them every day when I’m driving.

Right now vlingo has vlingo FIND, a free local search & maps application for your cell phone. It’s also working on an application for the BlackBerry that will “enable users to search the mobile web, make a phone call, send a note to self, email or send an SMS all by using voice.”

Whoa, get that on an iPhone and you’ve sold me.

The survey was conducted among 4,820 online opinion panel members aged 13 or older living in the continental United States. The sample was matched to U.S. Census proportions on gender, age and ethnicity and included approximately 100 respondents from each of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Respondents were also screened for mobile phone ownership and usage. Margin of error was +/- 1.41%.

You can read the entire report here.