Table 4

Aspects of cellphone use while driving laws which does or could make them easier for police to enforce (N=304)*

AspectPer cent who strongly agreed or agreedMean responseSD
Making these laws applicable to all licensed drivers90.74.50.8
Making these laws a primary offence86.54.40.9
Having one general law that prohibits hand-held cellphone use of any kind85.84.30.9
Eliminating age or license requirements (ie, the law does not just apply to drivers under a certain age or licensure types).78.34.21
Eliminating legal exceptions, which permit some behaviours but not others72.341.1
Writing these laws more broadly and including all distracting behaviours (eg, personal grooming, eating, pets sitting in the driver’s lap)66.13.91.2
  • *This question asked which aspects of cellphone laws do or could make them easier to enforce and the officers were presented with these options. Responses were on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from ‘Strongly disagree (1)’ to ‘Strongly agree (5)’. The mean value along with the percentage of respondents who ‘Strongly agreed’ or ‘Agreed’ with the statement were combined and shown. The response rate for this question was 86%.