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Most Americans Favor Stricter Distracted Driving Laws

But new survey results also underscore the reluctance of many drivers to ditch their own phone while behind the wheel.

by Staff
September 19, 2016
Most Americans Favor Stricter Distracted Driving Laws

Photo courtesy of U.S. Marines via Wikimedia Commons.

2 min to read


Photo courtesy of U.S. Marines via Wikimedia Commons.

Though 61% of American adults wish their state would do more to prevent phone use behind the wheel, more than half also admit to some phone use of their own while driving in the past 30 days, according to a new survey from EverQuote Insurance Services.

Additionally, 12% confessed to using their phone on most or all drives.

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EverQuote Insurance Services, a business that helps customers compare auto insurance quotes, conducted the national online survey June 18-22 of this year. A total of 2,300 licensed American drivers participated.

Survey results highlight the impulse to respond to text messages quickly. An overwhelming majority — 83.9% — indicated they felt the need to answer a text message within an hour or less of receipt.

Survey participants were divided on the question of using a phone app to control behind-the-wheel phone use. A total of 52.4% said they would allow use of such an app, while 47.6% said they wouldn’t. Less than 40% of Millennials were agreeable to such a mobile app, while nearly 60% of Baby Boomers and 70% of seniors would allow it.

Men age 65 and above were more likely to agree to use this kind of app than women of the same age. But women ages 35-44 were 15% more likely to allow the app than men in the same age range.

The survey indicated that 96% of respondents viewed themselves as safe drivers. But 37% of those surveyed indicated that less than half of other drivers on the road are safe.

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To read the full survey results, which include graphs, click here.  

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