Drivers Say Texting Behind the Wheel Bigger Threat Than Drunk Driving

News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A new survey found most drivers rated texting or emailing behind the wheel a more serious threat than drunk driving.

AAA just released its third annual 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index. Researchers discovered 88 percent of drivers ranked distracted driving - texting, e-mailing or talking on cell phones behind the wheel - an even higher threat than that of drunk driving.

Fifty-two percent of Americans said they felt less safe on the roads now than they did five years ago.

The study also showed that while the majority of drivers, 62 percent, considered distracted driving extremely dangerous, many of them admitted to doing it. Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said they talked on their phones, and 24 percent confessed they had read or sent text messages or emails while driving in the previous month.

"As mobile technology evolves at a breakneck pace, more and more people rightly fear and recognize that distracted driving... is a growing threat on the road," said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. "But, unfortunately, this new data confirms the 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude is prevalent throughout much of the driving public."

AAA hoped to change bad driving behaviors by holding its second annual Heads Up Driving Week starting Sept. 26. The organization will encourage drivers to put away the cell phones and drive distraction free.

"Unlike the social stigma surrounding drinking and driving, driving while texting, emailing or talking on the phone aren't perceived as dangerous behaviors despite overwhelming scientific evidence of the serious crash risk these behaviors pose," said Kissinger. "This year's Traffic Safety Culture Index helps identify crucial disconnects between public perceptions and behaviors, an important step in helping the public understand the true risks of their actions."

The 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index also found:

• Nearly 90 percent identified texting or e-mailing while driving as a very serious threat and 80 percent would support a law banning it.

• Nine out of ten respondents personally consider texting or emailing while driving unacceptable and two thirds indicated that they would lose some respect for a friend who they saw engaging in those activities while driving. However, nearly a quarter of all those surveyed said they had read or sent a text or e-mail while driving in the last month.

• Two-thirds reported they consider talking on a cell phone while driving a very serious threat and nearly half would support a law banning use of any phone while driving. However, nearly 70 percent of all those surveyed admitted talking on a phone while driving in the past month.