(07/19/12) -

Most Canadians Have Seen Drivers Using Hand-Held Cell Phones

Bad driving habits, such as cutting into a lane without signalling and tailgating, are seemingly more prevalent in British Columbia and Alberta.

Despite the fact that all Canadian provinces have enacted legislation to restrain the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, a large proportion of Canadians have observed the practice recently, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,001 Canadian adults, nine-in-ten respondents (90%) say they have seen a driver talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving.

Support for a national regulation to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving has increased by six points since an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey conducted in November 2010. Practically nine-in-ten Canadians (89%) are in favour of a law that would be applied at the federal level.

Driving Habits

More than four-in-five Canadians have witnessed a driver speeding (87%) and turning without having signalled first (82%) over the course of the past month.

A majority of respondents across the country also report seeing drivers tailgating (77%), cutting into another lane without notice (67%), multitasking while driving (65%) and running red lights (59%).

Almost half of Canadians say they have seen a driver—or a passenger—littering (46%) and a driver turning where a turn is not allowed (45%). The least reported bad habit is a driver invading the crosswalk when people are on it (33%).

Albertans and British Columbians are ahead of the national average on most of the negative categories, particularly on cutting into another lane without notice and tailgating. Albertan drivers seem to lead the way in multitasking, running red lights and littering, while British Columbian drivers are apparently more likely than others to turn where they should not and invade the crosswalk. Atlantic Canadians appear to be especially mindful of not littering, while Quebecers rarely see a driver invading the crosswalk.

Reactions

When facing a bad driver, more than half of Canadians (53%) have honked their horn, while three-in-ten (29%) have cursed at the driver and one-in-five (20%) have waved their fist, arms or hands. Only 15 per cent have made an obscene gesture, and nine per cent have called the police to report the driver.

Most people in Alberta (59%), Quebec (56%) and Ontario (55%) have honked their horn at a bad driver. Albertans, however, are markedly more likely to curse at a bad driver (38%), wave their fist, arms or hands (27%) and call the police to report the driver (18%).

Across the country, 78 per cent of respondents say that “none” or “a few” of the drivers in their municipality are bad drivers, while one-in-five (20%) claim that “most” or “all” of them are bad drivers. The only areas where at least one-in-four respondents referred to “most” or “all” drivers as bad are Manitoba and Saskatchewan (27%), Alberta (26%) and Ontario (25%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From June 28 to June 29, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,001 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.