Survey: Texting and driving a bad mix, but many do it | Maryland Highway Safety Foundation

Monday, October 3, 2011

Survey: Texting and driving a bad mix, one many drivers admit to doing by C. Benjamin Ford
Staff Writer

A new survey has found 95 percent of drivers view text messaging or emailing while driving as a serious threat to them when others do it, but many also admit to engaging in the practice themselves.
The survey found 35 percent of the drivers admitted to having texted or emailed while driving within the past month.
The study, released Monday, comes on the heels of the state’s new ban against reading a text or email while driving, which took effect Oct. 1. The ban closes a loophole in the previous prohibilition against texting and driving, said AAA MidAtlantic’s spokeswoman Christine Delise.
AAA, an advocacy organization for drivers, and the AAA Foundation are promoting a “Heads Up Driving Week” this week to encourage people to spurn distracted driving.
The survey found 88 percent of drivers think talking on a phone is a threat to safety, but about 66 percent admitted to having done it within the past 30 days.
Eight-seven percent of drivers in the national survey support bans on texting and emailing while driving, while 50 percent supported bans on cell phone use while driving.
Maryland has been at the forefront in requiring cell phones to be hands-free and in banning texting while driving since 2009, Delise said.
Police across Maryland have issued 587 warnings and 379 traffic citations since the 2009 law went into effect.
In 2010, Maryland had 496 traffic fatalities, down from 550 in 2009, a 9 percent decrease.
“Our new law strengthening the texting-while-driving ban is another step toward continuing to reduce traffic deaths,” Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said in an emailed statement.
“We have seen dramatic declines in traffic fatalities in Maryland in recent years and we want that trend to continue,” said Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Marcus L. Brown.
“That is why police officers across Maryland are working hard with state and local agencies to inform and educate our citizens about the dangers of texting and cell phone use while driving.”