Survey: Americans say texting while driving should be illegal

They say it's as bad as drunken driving

By Heather Havenstein

August 7, 2007 12:00 PM ET

Comments

Computerworld - Nine out of 10 American adults believe that driving while texting is dangerous and should be against the law, according to a new survey.

In addition, 91% of adults surveyed by research firm Harris Interactive Inc. thought that drivers sending text messages or e-mails are as dangerous as those who have had a couple of drinks before getting behind the wheel.

However, the survey, which was commissioned by Pinger Inc., a mobile messaging service that uses a hands-free headset, also found that 66% of adults who drive a car and have used text messaging said they have read text messages or e-mails while driving, and 57% of the same people said they have sent text messages or e-mails while driving.

The dangers of text messaging while driving came to prominence after a June 28 car crash that killed five teenagers in New York. Text messages were sent and received on the 17-year-old driver's cell phone minutes before the car she was driving crashed head-on into a truck. Although crash investigators said that they would never know who was using the phone, they said texting could have been one of the factors involved in the crash.

Six states, including New York, California and Florida, are considering legislation that would ban texting while driving. Washington banned texting while driving in May.

The survey also found that 64% of adults who admitted to sending text messages while driving were between the ages of 18 and 34, while only 6% were 55 or older. In addition, men and women sent text messages while driving at equal rates, the research found.

Harris surveyed 2,049 adults online between June 28 and July 3.

Read more about mobile and wireless in Computerworld's Mobile and Wireless Knowledge Center.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

texting while driving

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know

Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.

WHITE PAPER

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009

The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.

WHITE PAPER

Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing

Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

8 comments | Add new

See all comments (8) | Add new

White Papers & Webcasts

How to Calculate ROI & TCO of Enterprise BlackBerry and iPhone Uses
Download Now

Accelerating Your Mobile Workers: Controlling the Uncontrollable
Today's workforce is truly mobile. Unlike the managed environment of the office LAN, remote users face many challenges to being productive while out...

eGuide: Enterprise Security
Smart Security Strategies for 2010. Read now!

Managing Laptops Outside the Office
Learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located.

How to Improve Remote User Satisfaction and Maximize ROI by Using SSL VPNs
Download this white paper today!

Mobile U Webinar
Watch Now!

The New Mobile Order
Download Now

4G Ahead Video Program
Uncover the features and benefits of the two leading 4G technologies for enterprises considering future deployment.

WAN Application Delivery for Executives
Learn how to simplify server and application administration without creating performance problems for distributed users.

Horror stories: Managing IT Across Multiple Locations
How one extra sharp IT manager eliminates daily agony, hassle and repetition.

All White Papers | All Webcasts