CAA: Majority of Canadians believe texting while driving has got worse

83% of Canadians surveyed believe that texting while driving has got worse over the past three years and is also their number one concern alongside drink driving, according to the latest research from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In addition, 96% said that drivers who text are a threat to their personal safety on the road.
January 2, 2018 Read time: 1 min
83% of Canadians surveyed believe that texting while driving has got worse over the past three years and is also their number one concern alongside drink driving, according to the latest research from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In addition, 96% said that drivers who text are a threat to their personal safety on the road.


CAA’s findings are based on a poll of 2,003 Canadians carried out in November, which also showed that other distractions while driving such as emailing, talking on mobile phones and talking to/engaging with in-car technologies are increasingly becoming an issue.

Jeff Walker, chief strategy officer, CAA National, said: "Despite anti-texting and driving laws in all provinces across the country and several years of public education campaigns, Canadians still don't seem to be getting the message.”

"Studies show drivers are as much as 23 times more likely to get into a collision when they text and drive. It's important we all put our devices down and stay focused on the road”, Walker added.

UTC

Related Content

  • January 12, 2017
    Study identifies Canada’s worst traffic bottlenecks
    Canada’s top 20 most congested traffic bottlenecks may cover just 65 kilometres, but they collectively cost drivers over 11.5 million hours and an extra 22 million litres of fuel per year. These are two findings of Grinding to a Halt, Evaluating Canada’s Worst Bottlenecks, released by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). Studies show that bottlenecks are the single biggest contributor to road delay, far outpacing traffic accidents, inclement weather and construction. The report provides data-based
    Read More
  • January 19, 2012
    Safer roads need safe systems approach, better infrastructure
    Some developed countries are far from leading the way when it comes to making road infrastructure safe. In fact, says the Road Safety Foundation's Joanne Hill, they learn a lot from what is happening in emergent nations. A new report from the Road Safety Foundation, 'Saving Lives, Saving Money - the costs and benefits of achieving safe roads', makes some startling assertions about attitudes to road safety. Although concerned predominantly with the UK, there are some universal lessons to be learned, accordin
    Read More
  • June 3, 2015
    Distraction dominated teen driver accident causes.
    As a new report shows that distracted driving is a bigger cause of accidents than previously thought, Jon Masters asks what should be done to counter this problem. Research carried out by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has shed new light on the dangers of distraction for teen drivers. Six years of study using video analysis has shown that 58% of all crashes involving teen drivers are caused by the driver being distracted and proved that the influence of external factors is stronger than previously th
    Read More
  • August 1, 2012
    Delivering accurate vehicle identification
    In the Netherlands, TNO, the independent research organisation, has been engaged in a project on behalf of the RDW, the Dutch vehicle registration and licensing authority, intended to look at the feasibility of using electronic means to make vehicle identification more accurate and less susceptible to fraud. Electronic Vehicle Identification (EVI) has been in existence in various forms for several years now but TNO was tasked with finding out whether OnBoard Unit (OBU)-based applications could be complement
    Read More

Highlighted Content