{"id":95624,"date":"2010-06-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-18T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2010\/06\/18\/major-findings\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:13:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:13:41","slug":"major-findings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2010\/06\/18\/major-findings\/","title":{"rendered":"Major findings"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47-of-texting-adults-say-they-have-sent-or-read-a-text-message-while-driving&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"47-of-texting-adults-say-they-have-sent-or-read-a-text-message-while-driving\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">47% of texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Close to half (47%) of all adults who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while behind the wheel. That compares to one in three (34%) texting teens ages 16-17 who said they had \u201ctexted while driving\u201d in our September 2009 survey.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the general population this means that 27% of all American adults say they have texted while driving. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Male texters are more likely to report texting at the wheel; 51% of men who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while driving while 42% of women texters say the same.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those in the Millennial generation (ages 18-33) are more likely than any other age group to report texting while driving. While 59% of texting Millennials say they have sent or read messages at the wheel, 50% of text-using Gen Xers (ages 34-45) and 29% of texting Baby Boomers (ages 46-64) report the same. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"530\" height=\"996\" alt=\"Texting while driving\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/B7D5F3F0A5844C47AB40231E505AB3D6.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;75-of-cell-owning-adults-say-they-have-talked-on-a-cell-phone-while-driving&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"75-of-cell-owning-adults-say-they-have-talked-on-a-cell-phone-while-driving\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">75% of cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three in four cell phone-owning adults say they have talked on a mobile phone while driving. That compares to just half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17who reported talking on a cell phone while driving in our 2009 survey.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In all, 61% of American adults say they have had conversations on a cell phone while behind the wheel. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, men are more likely than women to report this distraction; 78% of cell-owning men say they have talked while driving, compared with 72% of cell-owning women.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eight in ten cell-using Millennials say they have talked on their mobile phones while driving. However, Gen X stands out as the group most likely to chat at the wheel when compared with older generations. While close to nine in ten (86%) Gen Xers who own cell phones talk while driving, just 73% of Boomer cell owners and 50% of those age 65 and older say they talk on their phones while at the wheel.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents are more likely than non-parents to say they have talked on a cell phone while driving; 82% of cell-owning parents report this, compared with 72% of non-parents. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"510\" height=\"758\" alt=\"Talking on cell phone while driving\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/5FDB28F2095442B2B8FA075C12E80DD7.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;49-of-all-adults-say-they-have-been-in-a-car-when-the-driver-was-sending-or-reading-text-messages-on-their-cell-phone&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"49-of-all-adults-say-they-have-been-in-a-car-when-the-driver-was-sending-or-reading-text-messages-on-their-cell-phone\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">49% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Half of all American adults (49%) say they have been passengers in cars with other texting drivers. The same proportion (48%) of all teens ages 12-17 said they had been in a car \u201cwhen the driver was texting\u201d in our 2009 survey.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Men and women are equally as likely to say they have been in a car when the driver was texting. However, non-white American adults are more likely than whites to say they have been passengers of texting drivers. While 56% of black adults and 58% of Hispanic adults say they have been passengers of texting drivers, 46% of white adults report the same.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The likelihood that someone will be a passenger of a texting driver decreases dramatically with age. While one in three (75%) Millennials say they have been passengers in a car with a texting driver, 59% of Gen Xers, 37% of Boomers and just 18% of adults age 65 and older say they have had that experience.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents are considerably more likely than non-parents to say they have been passengers of distracted drivers; 58% all parents say they have been passengers when the driver was texting, compared with 45% of non-parents.<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;44-of-all-adults-say-they-have-been-in-a-car-when-the-driver-used-the-cell-phone-in-a-way-that-put-themselves-or-others-in-danger&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"44-of-all-adults-say-they-have-been-in-a-car-when-the-driver-used-the-cell-phone-in-a-way-that-put-themselves-or-others-in-danger\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">44% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While cell phones are most commonly used for talking and texting, there is a range of other potentially distracting behaviors\u2014such web browsing, video watching, picture-taking and gaming\u2014that can divert a driver\u2019s attention away from the road. In all, 44% of adults say they have been passengers in a car with a driver who used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger. About the same number of teens (40%) said they had been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way in the 2009 survey.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Men are more likely than women to report being passengers of cell-distracted drivers (48% vs. 40%).\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millennials and Gen X are about equally as likely to report being passengers of drivers who use the cell phone in a dangerous way (59% vs. 52%). However, both groups are considerably more likely than older generations to report this experience. Just 37% of Boomers say they have been passengers in a car while the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way and only 21% of adults age 65 and older say they have had that experience.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, parents are more likely than non-parents to say they have been passengers of cell-distracted drivers (49% vs. 42%).<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;a-sixth-of-cell-phone-owners-have-bumped-into-someone-or-something-while-using-their-handhelds&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"a-sixth-of-cell-phone-owners-have-bumped-into-someone-or-something-while-using-their-handhelds\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A sixth of cell phone owners have bumped into someone or something while using their handhelds<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of the 82% of American adults who own cell phones, fully 17% say they have bumped into another person or an object because they were distracted by talking or texting on their mobile phones. That amounts to 14% of all American adults who have been so engrossed in talking, texting or otherwise using their cell phones that they bumped into something or someone. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millennials who own cell phones are by far the most likely to have bumped into someone or something: 33% have done so, compared with 15% of cell owners in GenX, 8% of Baby Boomers who have handhelds, and 3% of those over age 65 who own cells.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The physically-distracted crowd is also slightly more urban and well-educated than others. Cell owners who live in cities are more likely than rural residents to bump into other people and things (20% vs. 13%). And cell owners with college degrees are more likely than those with high school diplomas to be looking at their screens when they should be looking at their surroundings (20% vs. 14%).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"530\" height=\"421\" alt=\"Distracted driving - Table\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/1CD02C36746A4E079025F317087FDF3B.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/figure><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>47% of texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving Close to half (47%) of all adults who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while behind the wheel. That compares to one in three (34%) texting teens ages 16-17 who said they had \u201ctexted while driving\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-95624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","formats-report","research-teams-internet"],"label":false,"post_parent":95614,"word_count":960,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2010\/06\/18\/major-findings\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":95614,"title":"Adults 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