Drivers Spend Less Time on Cell Phones

The push to raise people’s awareness of distracted driving must be working because a survey found that drivers are using their mobile devices less than they did last year.
According to a survey by Nationwide Insurance, 20 percent of drivers surveyed said they text while driving, and of that group, 47% of drivers younger than 35 said they text and drive. Clearly, there’s work to be done with younger drivers. But four out of 10 of these drivers say they’re texting less than they did last year. The telephone survey of 1,005 U.S. adults was conducted by Harris Interactive from April 20-27.
What about drivers who just talk on their cell phones while behind the wheel? While 67% of drivers say they talk on their phones when driving, 30% of those drivers said they’re talking less than they did last year.
These numbers might sound high, but when Nationwide first started the annual survey in 2007, 73% of drivers talked on their cell phones when driving. In 2007, 19% of drivers admitted to texting and driving.