Cellphone use by drivers is the No. 1 safety problem on California’s roads, a state survey finds.
The survey won’t come as a surprise to Road Warrior readers who regularly report dangerous driving by motorists on cellphones. And it comes as the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday recommended that states ban all cellphone use, including hands-free, by drivers, except in emergencies. No state currently goes this far.
Last year, 21.5 percent of Californians surveyed by the state Office of Traffic Safety said speeding and aggressive driving was the top safety problem while 15.9 percent said talking on cellphones and 2.4 percent said texting. This year, 17.6 percent cited speeding and aggressive driving but 20.3 percent cited talking on cellphones and 18.5 percent cited texting.
Other safety issues singled out this year were drunken driving at 12.6 percent and bad road surfaces at 11.6 percent.
When asked what is the most serious distraction for drivers, 56 percent this year pointed to talking on cellphones, whether hands-free or hand-held, down from 61.9 percent last year and 27.8 percent cited texting, up from 12.7 percent last year.
Only 10.5 percent said they regularly talked on a hand-held phone while driving and 6.3 percent regularly texted or emailed while driving. About 40 percent said they talked less on their cellphone while driving because of California’s hands-free law.
About 60 percent reported being hit or nearly hit by a driver who was talking or texting on a cellphone, and 45.8 percent said they had made a driving mistake while talking on their cellphone.
California imposed its hands-free law in 2008 and banned texting while driving in 2009. It is one of nine states that prohibit hand-held phones while driving and one of 35 states that ban texting.
The survey was conducted in late summer at gas stations in 15 counties throughout California and 1,801 drivers age 18 and over were interviewed.
To see details on the study, CLICK HERE.
————-
Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter via @PDRoadWarrior
