Many people who talk on the phone while driving are holding their cell phones in their hand instead of using a hands-free device, even in states that require such devices, according to an online poll by Harris Interactive.
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Download NowThe survey of more than 2,000 adults found that 73 percent of respondents who drive and have a cell phone admitted that they talk on their cell phone while driving. Two-thirds said that they sometimes talk on their cell when driving, while six percent said they do so all the time. Twenty-seven percent said that they never talk on their cell while driving.
Among those people who admitted they talk on the phone while driving, 72 percent said they hold the cell phone in their hand, and 28 percent said they use a hands-free device. In states that require a hands-free-device, 45 percent of respondents who talk on the phone while driving said they hold the phone, and 55 percent said they use a hands-free device.
The survey found that 25 percent of all the survey respondents were unsure whether their state bars the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Sixty-one percent of respondents said their state had no law prohibiting the use of handheld mobile phones while driving, and 14 percent said their state had such a law.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia bar drivers from using handheld mobile phones while driving. Other states have passed restrictions for young drivers and bus drivers. In addition, some local jurisdictions have banned the use of handheld cell phones while driving.