Northwest Iowa — A survey by an insurance company finds uses other than talking are becoming bigger issues for the distraction of Iowa drivers on cellphones.
State Farm Insurance spokesperson, Ann Avery, says they have data from seven years of driver surveys.
She says there are some other numbers in the survey that raise concern.
The survey found 88 percent of drivers now have a smartphone. People in the 40 to 49 year old category saw the biggest jump from a regular phone to a smartphone, moving from 47 to 92 percent. Ninety-nine percent of the drivers aged 18 to 29 have smarphones. Avery says as the number of smartphones has increased, so have the things you can do with them.
Avery says drivers were asked in the survey what it would take to get them to put their phones down while on the road.
Talking on the cellphone while driving is legal in Iowa. Texting while driving is a secondary offense, which means police can’t pull you over just for texting. Police must stop you for something else before they can ticket you for texting while driving.
