Never mind distracting themselves with calls or reading SMSs, one in faive can't stop looking at the world wide wibble for five minutes. State Farm conducted a small "pulse check" to dig deeper into the growing use of smartphones among drivers. Survey respondents consisted of 912 drivers who met the following criteria: had a valid driver's license, reported driving at least one hour per week, and owned a smart phone.
Of these drivers, 19 percent admitted to using the Internet while driving. The top five Web-based activities they engage in are:
• Finding/reading driving directions,
• Reading email,
• Looking up/referencing specific information of immediate interest,
• Looking at/reading social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.),
• Composing/sending email.
Most said they use the Internet while driving reported that they engage in these activities when stopped at a stop light or stopped in heavy traffic. They also added they access the Internet when driving alone, during daylight hours, or on long drives on the interstate. Approximately 40 percent of the U.S. population owns a smartphone. State Farm has said that it will conduct an in-depth and comprehensive study to learn more about smart phone use among young drivers.
Cindy Garretson, Director of Auto Technology Research at State Farm said that it was very interested in learning more about the growing trend of using the Web while driving.
We guess that is because it might have to bump up people's premiums.