USA - 88 percent of drivers admitted to using their cell phone to text, email, surf the Web or have a conversation in the past 12-months

[prnewswire] cellcontrol, a leading supplier of driving while distracted solutions, announced today a new study that shows a majority of drivers still use cell phones while on the road even though its proven to be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. The study was conducted by odbEdge, the creator of cellcontrol, during the week of December 14, 2009, to learn about views on driving while distracted. From a pool of 100 respondents, 88 percent of drivers admitted to using their cell phone to text, email, surf the Web or have a conversation in the past 12-months. However, nearly 75 percent of the same group agreed that driving while intoxicated and texting are equally dangerous. While this shows an increased awareness of distracted driving as a problem, drivers still fail to realize that Distracted Driving is 23 times more dangerous than Driving While Intoxicated.

While great progress has been made with laws in place and awareness campaigns, the study shows that 72 percent of drivers still continue to drive and be distracted by their cell phones and other mobile devices regardless of state cell phone usage while driving bans. Solutions like cellcontrol, which works by plugging into a car's on-board computer and uses a downloadable application and Bluetooth technology to pair to your phone, is an option to help keep drivers safe on the road and curb the habit of driving while using a cell phone.

"Cell phone use and driving is still a safety problem on our roadways and that's why at cellcontrol our main objective is to help parents, friends, employers, etc., protect those they care about with technology that is easy and simple to use," said Leigh Gilly, Director of Business Development of cellcontrol. "We are aimed at preventing driving while distracted to help reduce the over 500,000 injury-resulting accidents each year caused by mobile phones and other technologies used while driving."

While cell phone use when driving spans across all age groups, teenagers draw the most attention to this national problem. If given the choice, the study shows 65 percent of parents would put their worries to rest with technology to prevent their children from driving while using their cell phones. More than 60 percent of parents would purchase a particular cell phone if they had the ability to control distracted driving as a feature option. In addition, more than 75 percent would use technology to restrict use of mobile devices while driving if they received a discount on their automobile insurance premium.

Survey questions/results included:

In the last 12 months, have you engaged in distracted driving caused by any of the following cell phone activities: texting, emailing, surfing the Web or talking on your phone?
Yes - 88.4%
No - 11.6%

If given the technology to block the use of cellular phones while operating a vehicle, on which of the following would you use the technology:
Yourself - 26.8%
Spouse or significant other - 23.2%
Children - 65.2%
Employees - 27.7%
None of the above - 17.0%

What do you consider to be more dangerous?
Driving while intoxicated - 17.0%
Driving while texting - 9.8%
They are equally dangerous - 73.2%

Has the passing of new laws prohibiting distracted driving changed the way you use your cellular phone while operating a vehicle?
Yes - 27.7%
No - 72.3%

Are you aware of any accidents in the last 12 months involving yourself, family or friends that was caused by distracted driving?
Yes - 27.7%
No - 72.3%

In purchasing cellular phones for your children or employees, would you consider the ability to control distracted driving on a specific phone type as an important feature in the buying decision?
Yes - 60.7%
No - 8%
Maybe - 31.3%

Besides cellular phones, which of the following mobile devices do you currently have or use in your personal or work vehicle?
Laptop - 28.8%
Handheld ordering device - 2.7%
MP3 player - 27.9%
GPS system - 45.9%
DVD player - 32.4%
None of the above - 27.9%

In regards to automobile insurance: Would you use technology to restrict your use of a mobile device while operating a vehicle if you received a discount on your premium for doing so?
Yes - 75.9%
No - 24.1%

In regard to automobile insurance: Would you be willing to change insurance carriers if a different carrier offered a discount that ultimately saved you money for the use of technology to stop distracted driving?
Yes -- 53.6%
No - 46.4%


Survey Reveals Roadways Increasingly Filled With Unsafe Drivers Distracted By Their Cell Phones