Many In South, Southwest Would Ban

Use of Cell Phones While Driving

(8/01/01) – The law should force drivers to put down their handheld cell-phones, say a solid majority of adults in five key television markets. That’s the result of a series of recent polls conducted by SurveyUSA for television stations WKMG/Orlando, WBTV/Charlotte, KPRC/Houston, KNXV/Phoenix and KDKA/Pittsburgh.

In June, the New York State Assembly approved legislation that would ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving in the entire state of New York. Under the new law, using hands-free phones while driving would be acceptable, as would be the use of any cell phone in the case of an emergency.

In response to this groundbreaking piece of legislation, we asked 2,500 adults in five markets across the nation whether they think their state should ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving:

· 71% of those surveyed in Charlotte say they think their state should ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving. 27% say the state should not.

· 70% in Orlando say they would support such a ban while 26% say they would not.

· 69% in Pittsburgh say they would support such a ban while 29% say they would not.

· 59% in Houston say they would support such a ban while 34% say they would not.

· 63% in Phoenix say they would support such a ban while 34% say they would not.

In all of these cities, those ages 55+ are most likely to support a ban on cell phone use while driving, while those ages 18-34 are most likely to oppose a ban.

About One Third Admit To Using Cell While Driving

In a related question, we asked adults in Orlando and Phoenix whether they use a handheld cell phone while driving. In these exclusive polls, a sizable minority (29% and 36% respectively) reported they do use a cell phone while driving despite the widespread support of a ban on such activity.

About SurveyUSA:

SurveyUSA conducts scientific random-sample opinion research under long-term contract for the nation's largest media companies. SurveyUSA is America's largest regional pollster. Millions of Americans see SurveyUSA data nightly on TV stations owned by or affiliated with ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. SurveyUSA is a registered trademark of Hypotenuse, Inc.

About these five (5) separate surveys:

SurveyUSA interviewed by telephone 2,500 adults: 500 adults each in the Houston, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Charlotte DMAs on June 26, 2001. Random sample was provided by Survey Sampler. Results have been minimally weighted to adjust for sample variations relating to age, gender, ethnic origin, and region. In theory, if the identical survey were conducted 100 times, in 95 cases the results would not differ by more than 4.1% in the Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Charlotte surveys, 4.4% in the Phoenix survey and 4.5% in the Houston survey. For smaller subgroups, a larger margin of error applies.