Liz Gannes

Recent Posts by Liz Gannes

Survey: 35 Percent of Smartphone Owners Use Them While Driving

Thirty-five percent of smartphone owners use their devices while driving, according to a McKinsey study released today on “Mobility of the Future.”

The rest, I’d venture to say, are lying about it! But then, I didn’t conduct an online survey of 4,000 people in the U.S.

Of respondents who said they use their smartphones while driving, 89 percent said it was for calls, 68 percent for navigation, 39 percent for SMS and 31 percent for using the Internet.

The McKinsey report — which was released at the Detroit Auto Show — did not get into the various voice, visual and touch interfaces people use to try to be safe while driving.

But it’s worth saying, because it’s always worth saying, that smartphones tend to distract us from other things we probably should be paying attention to when operating a motor vehicle.

McKinsey also found some interesting results around more sustainable transportation. For instance, 45 percent of young people — age 18 to 39 — said they expected to use car sharing more in the next 10 years.

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