The holiday weekend is here and despite the rising costs of fuel, there will still be lots of people on the highways. Traveling to see family, going camping or just out for a drive to enjoy the weather.
When I was growing up, there used to be a famous public service campaign that stated "Drive defensively, watch out for the other guy". There's also a running joke in my house from a caring albeit comical comment I made to Ann Marie as she was leaving the house once. I said "drive carefully", to which she responded "why do you always tell me to be careful?" to which I responded "it's not you I worry about, it's the other idiots out there".
My caring comment turned her toward a frown and a stare. Yes, I'm a communicator. Sheesh.
Driving is getting more dangerous. Why? Because of something called the cell phone. I have maintained for several years now that it is the thief of in-car radio listening. But let me also say this, it is what it is. Am I against cell phones? No. I love em and I play with mine more than I should. Cell phones also enable you to text. Texting has been the rage for a couple years now. Texting is the father of Twitter. Short message bursts which are too short for a whole conversation but simply status updates to your life or business.
What does this have to do with driving? I'm also a consultant that markets and sells research. Vlingo has just released a new study on texting while driving.
Here are some results to their survey:
Despite an increasing number of state bans on driving while texting
(DWT) and numerous reports of texting-related accidents, more than
one-fourth (26%) of US mobile-phone users send and/or receive text
messages while behind the wheel, finds a study from Vlingo.
Vlingo’s second annual Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report
reveals that drivers in Tennessee are the worst offenders, with 42% of
respondents from that state admitting to DWT. Arizona has the lowest
percentage (18.8%), the study found.
As of May 2009, seven states and the District of Columbia have laws
completely prohibiting any person from sending text messages while
operating a vehicle. However, the research found no correlation
between regulation and DWT activity:
- Two of the top five worst offender states (Tenn., N.J. Idaho,
Okla., Alaska) have some form of DWT/mobile phone ban in place or
pending (one of which is focused solely on young drivers).
- Of the five states with the best records (Ariz., Vt., R.I, Ohio,
Mich.), only R.I. has a ban on DWT and it only applies to those under
the age of 18.
Not surprisingly, the propensity for DWT varies by age. Almost 60%
of the US’s youngest drivers (ages 16 – 19) admit to DWT as do 49% of
those ages 20-29, Vlingo said. The percentages get lower for older
respondents (as do the percentages for texting in general), but 13% of
people in their 50s still admit to DWT.
Among survey respondents there is general consensus that DWT should
be legally banned. Just more than 83% of respondents think DWT should
be illegal, while only 7% think DWT should be legal, and 10% are
undecided. However, 40% favor making DWT legal with more safety
precautions, such as voice-recognition technology that enables
hands-free texting.
Texting on the Rise
The study also revealed that text messaging in general is on the
rise across all age groups, with nearly 60% of mobile phone users now
reporting they send or receive text messages. This compares with 54% in
2008. Again, percentages are highest among the youngest mobile users,
though a significant portion of those in their 40s and 50s report
texting as well:
- In 2008, 85% of teens and 20-somethings used texting.
- In 2009, 94% of teens and 87% of 20-somethings used texting.
- Among those in their 40s, usage jumped from 56% to 64.
- For those in their 50s use of texting jumped from 38% to 46%.
Texting is also gaining on sending/receiving calls as the primary
use of mobile phones, with 35% of all respondents using their phones
for texting more than for phone calls, the survey found. Almost half of
respondents do both in equal numbers.
The volume of text messages has gone up as well across all age
groups, although the 13-19-year-old age group remains the most active,
sending an average of more than 500 texts per month.
High Costs, Tiny Keypads Barriers to Texting
Despite the popularity of mobile data services, 41% of survey
respondents say they do not text, while 70% do not browse the web, and
73% do not use email on their mobile phones. The survey found that cost
is one of the main reasons for non-adoption:
- 44% cite cost as a barrier to adopting text messaging
- 59% cite cost as a barrier to web browsing
- 53% cite cost as a reason for not adopting mobile email
Among those who do not text message, 27% cite the difficulty of
typing on a tiny keyboard as a barrier, while 37% say it takes too much
time to type. However, usability enhancements such as voice enablement
would increase usage : 74% report that they would use voice enablement
as a way to make text messaging easier.
About the research: The Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging
Habits Report was fielded by independent panel research firm Toluna and
responses were generated from a survey among 4,816 online opinion panel
members (ages 13+) living in the continental US. The sample was matched
to US Census proportions on gender, age and ethnicity and included
approximately 100 respondents from each of the 48 contiguous US states.
Respondents were also screened for mobile phone ownership and usage.