More than half of young drivers use smartphones while driving

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More than half of young drivers use their smartphone while driving, new research reveals. It’s a worrying sign that distractions behind the wheel are becoming more prevalent in an increasingly connected society.

Despite almost 90% of young people claiming to get annoyed when they see someone else using a phone behind the wheel, 50% admit to reading text messages while driving.

50% of young drivers admit to reading text messages while driving

The survey of 1,000 young drivers by the insurance firm Ingenie shows that almost three-quarters admitted to using maps on their smartphone to get directions while driving, and around 25% had used Shazam to identify songs on the radio.

Nearly one in five young drivers have even played Angry Birds while driving, according to the research, with 30% regularly checking their Facebook account and a quarter using SnapChat when on the move.

Ingenie Insurance

By Caroline Burnell, contributor, MSN Cars