Almost 20 percent of drivers say they have browsed the Internet while they're behind the wheel.
The findings are from State Farm, which polled 912 licensed drivers last fall, and says it plans to take a more in-depth look at the problem this year.
Driving while distracted is a huge issue, with more than half of the states in the country banning texting while driving,"but the laws appear to be having little impact," wrote Bob Sullivan, msnbc.com's RedTape columnist, last summer.
"Americans overwhelmingly think texting while driving is dangerous, but about half of cell phone users do it anyway," he wrote. "Worse yet, 44 percent of U.S. adults say they've been a passenger in a car when a driver used their cell phone in a way that created a dangerous situation," according to a poll by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
In the State Farm survey, more than 19 percent of drivers said they check the Internet using their cell phone while they're driving, and 35 percent said they send or receive text messages "at least that frequently," reported USA Today.
"That 19 percent might be underestimating the actual use of smart phones to access the Internet while driving, because the majority of the respondents were in the age range of the 30s," Cindy Garretson, director of auto technology research at State Farm, told USA Today. "The largest users of cell phones tend to be the younger-age population. We would be very interested to know what that number would be if the focus was on the young adult market."
No matter what the age, smart phones with Internet access are becoming more widespread in the hands of consumers, and when those hands aren't behind the wheel, but on a touchscreen or little keyboard, it's incredibly dangerous.
"Most surfing drivers say they (Web surf and drive) while stopped at a traffic light or stopped in traffic," the newspaper said. "Sean Black, 38, of Springfield, Ill., says he often surfs the Internet while driving. 'I don't read in-depth stuff, but I Web and drive,' he says. 'I'll check different stuff about sports. I'm not saying it's the smartest thing in the world ... but I guess I just do it anyway.' "
More stories about the Internet and us:
- 70 percent find piracy socially acceptable, says poll
- Man forks over $200,000 to fake online love
- Mom sells kids' toys on eBay as punishment
Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney, who is really rabid about texting and driving, much less surfing the Web and maneuvering a 3,500-pound machine at the same time.
