STUDY: IN-CAR CELL PHONE USE LOWERS TSL Adam Jacobson – Radio and Records Bridge Ratings recently completed its first six-month analysis of in-car cell phone use as part of a commissioned, multi-year study for a wireless service provider, and Bridge President Dave Van Dyke says the early results show that the more time a commuter spends talking on their cell phone, the less time they spend listening to the radio. "A significant percentage of drivers either turned their radios down or off when engaged in a cell phone call," he said. "The implications are clear: the cell phone is vying for true Time Spent Listening in-car."
Bridge studied 2,000 cell phone users 18 years of age and older in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto and the Burlington, VT area. Of those queried, 79% said they turned down the radio while on a cell phone call. An additional 19% turned the radio off while chatting on the phone. Only those who spent at least one hour per day commuting in their vehicle were included and actual time spent listening to the radio was measured against time spent talking on cell phones. Bridge found that the amount of calls per commute rose from 2.1 calls per commute in 2001 to 3.1 calls in 2005. The average length of a cell phone call has risen from 2.74 minutes to 3.29 minutes over that same time period. |