Study Shows Nearly Half of Europeans Text While Driving; Ford Reveals Details of Text-to-Speech Mobile Technology

• A new study shows 48 percent of drivers in major European countries admit they have read texts behind the wheel. The study was commissioned by Ford of Europe as it prepares to introduce its SYNC in-car connectivity system, which can read aloud incoming messages through a text-to-speech feature
• The survey of drivers in Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia found Italian motorists were the worst offenders with 61 percent saying they have checked their text messages while driving
• SYNC, including the text-to-speech feature, debuts later this year in the all-new Ford B-MAX; it will then be rolled out to several more models this year including the Focus and Kuga  

COLOGNE, Germany, April 2, 2012 – A new study shows nearly half of European drivers admit they have read texts while driving, a highly distracting habit proven to contribute to traffic accidents.

The study was commissioned by Ford to underscore the safety issue as the company prepares to introduce its SYNC in-car connectivity system, which can read aloud incoming messages through a text-to-speech feature and enables drivers to send a text reply by voice from a predetermined list of responses.

An average of 48 percent of motorists surveyed from Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia confessed to checking their texts while driving, with 61 percent of Italian motorists saying they had done so compared with 55 percent in Russia, 49 percent in France and Germany, 40 percent in Spain and 33 percent in Great Britain.

Despite the prevalence of the practice, drivers surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that reading texts on the move was dangerous. Ninety-five percent of drivers across the six countries agreed that texting affected driver ability and safety. At least half of those surveyed in each country said they believed driver response was 50 per cent slower when checking messages from a mobile phone.

“Smartphones have quickly become an essential part of many people’s day,” said Christof Kellerwessel, chief engineer, Electronic and Electrical Systems Engineering, Ford of Europe. “However, text messages can be a distraction for drivers, so the benefit of a system that can read messages aloud from compatible smartphones is obvious.”

Ford SYNC will debut this summer on the all-new B-MAX and will roll out quickly to other vehicles in Ford’s lineup, including Focus and Kuga. The text-to-speech feature on SYNC, powered by Microsoft, retrieves messages using a simple voice command from Bluetooth-connected compatible smartphones.

SYNC also enables drivers to send a text reply from a predetermined list of responses, helping motorists to remain focused on driving while staying in touch with contacts. The responses include: “I love you”, “Send directions” and “See u in 10min”.
 
The survey of more than 5,500 drivers showed that drivers in Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain and Italy would be mostly to read a text from their partner while driving. Russian drivers said they were most likely to be distracted by a message from a family member who was not their partner.

Drivers surveyed said they were least likely to read messages from friends, with the exception of those in Germany and France, who were least likely to read work-related texts.

SYNC’s text-to-speech feature will be compatible with an increasing range of smartphones thanks to Ford’s adoption of the emerging Message Access Profile standard (MAP) for Bluetooth device-to-device connectivity, which is already used by leading mobile device manufacturers including Blackberry producer Research In Motion (RIM).

“RIM plans to implement MAP on BlackBerry smartphones moving forward and we are pleased to work with Ford in an effort to foster industry-wide adoption and standardization,” said Andrew Bocking, vice president, Handheld Software Product Management, at Research In Motion.

More than 4 million Ford vehicles in the U.S. already feature SYNC and Ford anticipates 3.5 million new vehicles in Europe will be equipped with SYNC by 2015.

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Editor’s notes:

1: A survey of 5,547 drivers across Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia was conducted from 19 to 23 January, 2012, by TNS Research International UK on behalf of Ford of Europe.

2: Key survey findings

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.