While nearly all Canadians look down on distracted driving, nearly 75 per of us do it anyway, a new poll says.
The most common forms of distracted driving among Canadians are to either adjust a radio or iPod or to eat while driving, according to the poll conducted for Allstate Canada by Leger Marketing.
Canadians were most likely to look down on texting while driving, with 88 per cent of respondents saying they viewed it negatively. Only 8 per cent of Canadian drivers admitted to texting behind the wheel.
Only 19 per cent of Canadians said they viewed changing the radio or iPod as a distraction.
However, the report says taking your eyes off the road for as few as five seconds while driving 90 km/h is the same as driving the length of a football field blindfolded.
"Our research shows that Canadians do not fully understand what is considered to be a distraction while driving and continue to engage in those dangerous behaviours," Saskia Matheson of Allstate Insurance Company of Canada said in a news release.
Eight out of ten accidents are caused by distracted driving, the report adds.
Raynald Marchand of the Canada Safety Council says many accidents are caused by drivers thinking they can multitask.
"Most people think they are very good drivers, but in reality, most drivers are average drivers," he told CTV News Channel. "Most people overly-estimate their capacity to deal with several things at once."
Other survey highlights:
- 25 per cent of Canadians say they knew someone in an accident caused by a distracted driver
- 37 per cent of Canadians ages 18 to 24 say they knew someone in an accident caused by a distracted driver
- 92 per cent of Canadians said they would speak to the driver of their vehicle if they thought the driver was distracted
The survey was conducted between July 26 and July 28 with 1,605 Canadian adults interviewed. The survey has a margin of error of 2.4 per cent.
