A survey of licensed drivers in California and Washington shows overwhelming support for the coming hands-free law which takes effect July 1, but that it will have little effect on the cell phone usage of drivers. The survey also documents a great deal of confusion as to when the law actually takes effect, what the cost of the traffic fines are in their respective states, whether it's a primary or secondary law, and what kinds of devices can be used to comply with the new law.

The survey shows that 75% of drivers (California 76% - Washington 71%) support the law, while only 10% oppose it. It also shows that 75% of drivers consider cell phone use while driving to be dangerous, yet 63% of respondents use their cell phone while driving on average about an hour a day, one quarter of their daily drive time, and primarily for non-urgent matters. Interestingly, key factors driving the purchase of a hands-free device by respondents were "obeying the law" and "safety" at 51 and 50%, respectively.

The study also revealed that 47% of drivers already use some type of hands-free device, whether it's a headset, the speaker of their cell phone, or a portable or installed hands-free car kit.

The survey was completed last month by Harris Interactive®, a leading market research firm, and queried 997 drivers in California and Washington. It was commissioned by Parrot, the world's leading manufacturer of Bluetooth® hands-free car kits.

"The survey findings reflect how cell phones are a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. But when it comes to safety, the best solution is simply to avoid the vast majority of calls, and drive," said David Wenning, Sr VP for Parrot. "Our view is that it's best to simply pull off the road and stop if you really need to make or take a call."

Driving Habits

The "Parrot Hands-Free" survey revealed that 41% of drivers in California and Washington currently use their cell phones while driving, with those between the ages of 35 and 45 spending 40% of their drive commute on the phone -- the largest proportion among the age groups surveyed. In addition, one in four respondents or 25% of drivers aged 34 or younger admitted to text messaging while driving.

Between the two states, Californians generally spend more time on the phones than their Washington counterparts (26% to 18%), corresponding to their respective commute periods (81.8 minutes for California and 67.2 minutes for Washington on average). Women also spend almost twice as much time on their cell phones as compared with men (1.3 hours to 0.7 hours).

Are calls really necessary?

Despite widespread cell phone usage, 88% of people surveyed did not find talking on their phone while driving to be 'extremely' or 'very important. 68% of respondents describe the majority of their phone calls as family/friends related with 88% of all calls by women compared with 54% by men.

In general, drivers under the age of 46 attached greater importance to cell phone use while driving compared with older drivers, with only 19% of the 18-34 group and 11% of the 35-45 group indicating that cell phone conversations while driving were either 'extremely' or 'very' important.

Misinformed About the Law Specifics

While half of California drivers are aware of the July 1 start date of the law, only 28% of Washington driver identified the correct date. Further, close to three out of 10 respondents or 28% believe the law is already in effect in Washington, while 33% are not sure of the date.

However, drivers in California and Washington are equally misinformed as to the fines involved for using a hands-held phone while driving. Only 13% of Californians and 19% of Washingtonians were fairly close to their actual fine ($20 and up to $101, respectively).

Attitudes towards the law

Although most respondents claim to support the upcoming law, three out of five respondents or 59% intend to use their phone about the same amount as they do now. Even fewer respondents at 29%, feel the law will have at least a moderate effect on their cell phone use while driving and two out of five or 43% say it will have no effect at all on their cell usage while driving.

"As a leading manufacturer of Bluetooth® car kits, Parrot understands very well how hand-held cell phone use interferes with the operation of controls and head movement during driving maneuvers and the risks that this presents," said David Wenning, Sr VP for Parrot. "This is why we launched http://www.parrotsafedriving.com, with a host of educational resources for all drivers as well as employers, and also including tips on responsible driving."

What is Bluetooth?

Because Bluetooth is a key enabler of hands-free devices, the study also asked drivers about their understanding of this wireless technology. Only 39% correctly identified Bluetooth as a wireless technology, while the balance – 61% -- either was not sure or misidentified Bluetooth as a product such as a headset or car kit. As a group, men were more likely to correctly identify Bluetooth than were women (46% vs 32%), while those in the 18-34 and 46-59 age groups (both at 44%) were much more like to properly identify the technology than those 35-45 or 60+ years of age.

Further, only half of the respondents (51%) said their cell phone is Bluetooth enabled. The others said they weren't sure, or their phone did not have Bluetooth. This is important because most hands-free devices today -- other than a cell phone speaker or a wired headset -- require a Bluetooth- enabled phone in order to use them.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online in California and Washington states by Harris Interactive on behalf of Parrot between April 2-9, 2008 among 997 adults ages 18 and over who live in California or Washington, have a driver's license, and own a cell phone. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, and error associated with non-response, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, un-weighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

ABOUT PARROT:

Founded in 1994, Parrot has rapidly established itself as a pivotal global player for wireless mobile telephone accessories. Drawing on its tried-and- tested expertise on voice recognition and signal processing technologies, Parrot was one of the very first companies to produce Bluetooth® -enabled wireless hands-free car kits, having identified this standard's vast potential as early as 1999. Determined to accompany the mobile telephone's irresistible breakthrough into our day-to-day lives, Parrot has been developing a new range of Multimedia products since 2006, including wireless hi-fi systems and LCD photo frames.

Today, Parrot truly has a major international focus, both in terms of its client base, with 86.6% of sales generated outside of France, and in terms of production, outsourced to carefully selected partners, enabling it to achieve the best possible level of quality and responsiveness. Parrot is now particularly well positioned to capitalize on the bright future opening up for mobile telephone devices. Parrot has seen sustained growth in its consolidated revenues, which have tripled since 2005. In 2007, Parrot sold over 5 million product units and generated 220 million Euros in revenues, up 32% on 2006.