Angus Reid Driving Habits Poll

For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll
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DRIVING
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.
[VANCOUVER Jul. 19, 2012] 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.
KEY FINDINGS
90% have observed a driver talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving; 89% call for a federal regulation to ban this practice. 87% have witnessed a driver speeding; 82% have seen a driver turn without having signalled first. 53% have honked their horn at a bad driver; 29% have cursed at the driver.
Full topline results are at the end of this release.
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 errorwhich measures sampling variabilityis +/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.
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%).
CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

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Almost half of Canadians say they have seen a driveror a passengerlittering (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%).
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About Angus Reid Public Opinion Angus Reid Public Opinion is a public affairs practice headed by Dr. Angus Reid: an industry visionary who has spent more than four decades asking questions to figure out what people feel, how they think and who they will vote for. A team of talented and experienced practitioners with a unique and profound understanding of global issues conduct high quality research throughout the world on a daily basis for corporations, governments, academic researchers, and non-profit organizations.
About Vision Critical Vision Critical is a global research and technology firm that creates software and services solutions for over 600 clients, including one third of the world s top 100 brands. The company has offices across North America, Europe and Australia as well as a Global Partner Program that provides other research companies and consultants with access to top-of-the-line technology. Its Sparq product is the most widely adopted community panel platform on the planet.

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For more information, please contact our spokesperson listed in the footnote.

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Driving Would you support or oppose a federal regulation to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving?
Region BC 91% 8% 0% AB 84% 15% 1% MB/SK 90% 8% 2% ON 92% 8% 0% PQ 84% 15% 1% ATL 92% 5% 4%
Total Support Oppose Not sure 89% 10% 1%
Driving Have you witnessed any of the following behaviours over the course of the past month?
Region BC 95% 93% 85% 83% 83% 71% 63% 43% 56% 56% AB 94% 86% 84% 82% 82% 76% 73% 58% 50% 51% MB/SK 88% 90% 88% 71% 67% 54% 52% 43% 35% 31% ON 91% 91% 85% 74% 80% 70% 64% 49% 45% 35% PQ 87% 76% 77% 77% 33% 54% 50% 42% 44% 11% ATL 87% 87% 79% 76% 70% 65% 50% 39% 30% 39%
Total A driver talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving A driver speeding A driver turning without having signalled first A driver tailgating A driver cutting into another lane without notice A driver multitasking while driving (reading, checking PDA, applying make-up, etc.) A driver running a red light A driver (or a passenger) littering A driver turning where a turn is not allowed A driver invading the crosswalk when people are on it 90% 87% 82% 77% 67% 65% 59% 46% 45% 33%

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Driving Have you responded to a bad driver with any of the following behaviours?
Region BC 43% 27% 18% 16% 9% AB 59% 38% 27% 19% 18% MB/SK 45% 26% 21% 11% 10% ON 55% 36% 21% 18% 8% PQ 56% 18% 18% 13% 6% ATL 47% 28% 18% 7% 9%
Total Honked your horn Cursed at the driver Waved your fist / arms / hands Made an obscene gesture Called the police to report the driver 53% 29% 20% 15% 9%
Driving Overall, how would you rate the drivers in your municipality?
Region BC 81% AB 74% MB/SK 71% ON 73% PQ 83% ATL 84%
Total None of them are bad drivers / A few of them are bad drivers Most of them are bad drivers / All of them are bad drivers
78%
20%
19%
26%
27%
25%
14%
13%
Not sure
2%
0%
0%
2%
2%
3%
3%

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For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll

Most Canadians Have Seen Drivers Using Hand-Held Cell Phones

For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll

For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll

For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll

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For Immediate Release Canadian Public Opinion Poll

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