Castleton
posted
Mar 14, 2013
"Hang up and drive" is the message from
Vermonters
Castleton poll measures Vermonters feeling on cell phone use while
driving
CASTLETON - The last of five reports sharing results from a
recent public opinion survey conducted by the Castleton Polling
Institute brings to light the way Vermonters feel about cell phone
use while driving.
"Hang up and drive" is the message from Vermonters in latest
poll.
A strong majority of Vermonters (68 percent) say they would
favor "making it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving in
Vermont." The concern for driving while on the cell phone
crosses party affiliation, with 65 percent of Republicans, 66
percent of Independents, and 73 percent of Democrats favoring a
ban. Women are somewhat more likely than men to favor a ban
(71 percent compared with 65 percent), and other demographic
differences, such as income and education, only show small
differences among groups.
The public seems to be most divided on the issue by age. While
87 percent of the respondents aged 65 or older favor making it
illegal to talk on the phone while driving (11 percent oppose),
only 39 percent of the respondents aged 18 to 24 favor the ban (61
percent oppose).
In a poll conducted for WCAX, WDEV, and Vermont Business
Magazine in May 2012, the Castleton Polling Institute asked a
sample of registered voters the same question about cell phone use
while driving. In that poll the Institute found that 80
percent of registered voters said they would favor such a
ban.
Castleton poll finds steady majority support for President
Obama and Governor Shumlin
CASTLETON - The most recent poll measured the approval ratings of
Vermonters for the president and their governor. 62 percent
say they approve of the job being done by President Obama.
For the sake of comparison, a poll from the Pew Research Center
conducted in the same period as the Castleton Poll found that 51
percent of Americans, generally, approve of President Obama's
performance as president-11 percentage points lower than the
average found in Vermont.
A majority of Vermonters also have a favorable opinion of
Governor Shumlin's job performance; 60 percent of the public
approve of the job that Governor Shumlin is doing as governor of
their state. Shumlin has a significantly higher level of approval
among Republicans than does President Obama (37 percent compared
with 19 percent, respectively). Overall, 18 percent of
Vermonters say that they have no opinion on the Governor's job
performance.
Castleton polls in May and August of 2012 found solid electoral
support for both President Obama and Governor Shumlin, and the May
poll measured Governor Shumlin's approval at 65 percent. These
figures, taken in combination with the election results of 2012,
reflect strong public support in Vermont for the chief executives
of both nation and state.
These data are based on 620 completed interviews, 130 of which
were respondents reached by cell phone. The interviews were
conducted between Feb. 6-17. For a sample of this size, the margin
of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.9 percent,
although the margin of error is larger for questions involving
subsamples of respondents. While sampling error is only one
source of potential survey error, precautions have been taken to
minimize other sources of error for this poll. The final data
are weighted by age and gender to adjust for differences in
response and to reflect the state's demographics on these
criteria.
For more information about this poll, visit the Castleton
Polling Institute's website at
www.castleton.edu/polling/results.htm.
