Majority of Drivers Text, Read Emails While Driving

CarGurus survey finds more than half (52%) of respondents admit they have used a cell phone to text or email while driving in the last 12 months

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 24, 2009 CarGurus (http://www.cargurus.com/), an online automotive community, today announced the results of its latest survey of 2,881 online automotive consumers worldwide. More than half of respondents (52%) said they have used a cell phone to read/write email or text while driving in the last 12 months.

According to a July 2009 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study, truck drivers face a 23 times greater risk of a crash or near crash while texting than when not doing so. Given the known risks of texting and reading email while driving, it seems surprising that a majority of consumers appear to be doing exactly that.

Just last month, the Senate proposed a bill (the ALERT ACT), which would ban truck and car drivers from texting or emailing while driving. Fourteen states already have laws barring texting while driving.

"Most consumers would agree that texting and emailing while you drive is dangerous. I was surprised to see that the majority of respondents admitted to distracting themselves from driving," remarked Langley Steinert, CEO of CarGurus. "Clearly this is not a small problem, but rather a widespread trend. It's encouraging to see that Congress is moving to enact laws to curb this growing problem."

  Survey Results

  Across the CarGurus Network, 2,881 respondents answered the question:

Have you read/written an email or texted using your cell phone while driving in the last 12 months?

  (Total Votes = 2,881)

  --  Yes - 52%

  --  No - 48%