A new poll suggests that most Canadians are in favor of legislations to ban distracted walking.
Insights West, a market research company, surveyed 1,013 people across the country and asked if they would support or oppose legislation that would prohibit the use of cellphones while walking in roadways. It found that 66% of those surveyed were in support of such legislation.
Of that 66%, 35% of the people surveyed said they would strongly support for such restrictions. The remaining 31% said they would “somewhat support” such rules when passed.
While the survey found that both men and women across the country favored legislation in similar numbers, there were pronounced differences across three age categories. Those aged 55 and above were the strongest supporters of distracted walking regulations, with 80% from that age group answering such in the survey.
"Baby boomers who probably haven't been texting that much … who look at this as a distraction, who look at this as something that could cause insurance problems down the road," Insights West vice-president of public affairs Mario Canseco told
CBC News.
Surprisingly, 51% of those in the 18-54 age bracket also voiced their support for distracted walking prohibitions.
"It's a little more of a close split than what we see with generation X or boomers, but even them, who grew up texting … are actually aware of the dangers they could be walking into without this type of legislation."
On the other hand, the majority of those who said they "strongly oppose" legislation were millennials as well.
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