Poll: Nearly Half of Europe’s Drivers Text While Driving

Nearly half of drivers surveyed in six European countries admit they check text messages on their mobile phones while driving even though 95% say doing so is dangerous.

The ratio of text-readers ranges from 61% in Italy to 33% in the U.K., according to the poll, which was conducted for Ford Motor Co. About half of the 5,500 drivers questioned figure that reading texts slows their response to traffic developments by 50%.

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has declared distracted driving its top safety priority, but the issue has receive less attention in Europe. ANE notes that many countries in the region ban driver use of mobile phones in moving vehicles, but there are no European Union-wide rules.

Ford says it commissioned the study to gauge the market before it introduces its voice-activated Sync telematics system in Europe. The technology, which can read text message aloud debuts this summer in the B-Max MPV and will be offered later this year in the Kuga crossover (called the Ford Escape in North America) and the Focus sedan.

Ford predicts that 3.5 million of the vehicles it sells in Europe will be equipped with Sync by 2015. About 4 million of the company's U.S. models already have the system.