TORONTO—Half of Canada’s motorists would agree with an outright ban on using cell phones while driving, according to a new study.
The vast majority of motorists equate the use of mobile phones with dangerous driver distractions, said the Ottawa-based Traffic Injury Research Foundation. Its study, part of the group’s inaugural Road Safety Monitor report, interviewed 1,207 drivers across Canada on their main traffic hazard concerns. More than 66 percent of the respondents said they see driving and cell-phone use as a safety risk.
Study data indicated that 4.3 million Canadian drivers make or take calls on the road in any given week, and about 20 percent of them say they talk on the phone while driving.
While driver sentiment is turning decidedly against the use of cell phones behind the wheel, there is no definitive evidence that they pose a major risk on the road.
