Only eight per cent plan on ignoring legislation.

Toronto - With only weeks to go before the Ontario government bans the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, a survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies on behalf of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications reveals that 82 per cent of Ontarians are aware of the legislation and 90 per cent are in favour of the ban.

As for compliance Ontarians are ready to follow the government’s lead with only eight per cent admitting that they will likely continue to use handheld mobile devices while driving.

As seen in other jurisdictions with similar bans, sales of handsfree devices are expected to increase. Twenty-nine per cent of Ontarians expressed an intention to acquire technologies which are compliant with the legislation including car speaker phones, wired and wireless headsets in the next three months.

More than one in five Ontarians currently own at least one form of compliant technology (9 per cent speaker phones; 20 per cent wireless headset and 20 per cent wired headset).

“Our experience shows that legislation of this sort creates a rush on handsfree mobile phone accessories as drivers try to find a solution that fits their needs,” says Michelle Digulla, General Manager for Sony Ericsson Canada. “We anticipate sales to increase dramatically given our wide range of handsfree options and leadership in Bluetooth technology."

Survey highlights:

o 62 per cent of men strongly agree with the legislation and 25 per cent moderately agree compared to 76 and 16 per cent of women respectively.

o Compliance is lowest amongst those aged 18 to 34 with 14 per cent saying they will likely continue to use their hand-held communication device regardless of the law.

o The highest level of support was among respondents aged 55 plus with 94 per cent indicating that they will comply and only three per cent planning to ignore the ban.

o Regionally, Northern Ontario has the highest level of compliance with 98 per cent planning on complying with the law and no longer using their hand-held device while driving compared to 82 per cent in Eastern Ontario.

o 85 per cent of men are aware of the ban compared to 79 per cent of women.

Sony Ericsson is a leading manufacturer of mobile communications products including handsets and accessories. As an innovator of Bluetooth technology the company has been a prominent leader in bringing innovative accessories to the wireless market and offers a full range of handsfree and corded options that enable consumers to be in compliance with most distracted driving laws.

From August 25 to August 26, 2009 Angus Reid Strategies conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 802 adult residents of Ontario who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Ontario. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.