Islanders rank distracted driving as the second-biggest risk factor for drivers today behind alcohol impaired driving, according to a survey.
Many things can distract drivers behind the wheel, including smartphones, other passengers, eating while driving or in-car touch screens, but as the Desjardins survey released Sept. 13 indicates, these obvious dangers, especially related to personal smartphone use, are still not clearly being recognized by many drivers.
Nationally, one in five Canadians admit to driving while distracted by their cellphone in the past year.
Moreover, current regulations aren’t encouraging Canadian drivers to put their phones down.
While most Canadians (97 per cent) are aware it is against the law to use a cellphone while driving, only 22 per cent of drivers say they would never use their phone behind the wheel.
The online survey, conducted in March 2018, polled 3,020 people across Canada.
Statistics about P.E.I. residents and distracted driving:
- 59 per cent see touch screen systems (including GPS and radio) in cars as a distraction
- Over three quarters (77 per cent) of P.E.I. residents think current laws are not effective in deterring distracted driving behavior
- Consequences related to fines (58 per cent) are most likely to discourage P.E.I. drivers from being distracted behind the wheel, followed by getting into a motor vehicle collision (32 per cent)
