Living Dangerously: Driver Distraction at High Speed

Abstract

Recent research indicates that cell phone use can distract drivers from safe vehicle operation. However, estimates of the prevalence of cell phone use while driving have been limited to daytime hours and low-speed roadways. This paper describes the results of a study to estimate rates of cell phone use and other distractions by examining approximately 40,000 high-quality digital photographs of vehicles and drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike. The photographs, which originally were collected as part of a separate study, were taken both during the day and during the night and at different locations across the span of the Turnpike. A radar gun linked to the camera recorded the speeds of vehicles as they passed. This provided us with the speeds of every vehicle photographed, and allowed us to determine population counts of vehicles. A panel of three trained coders examined each photograph and recorded the presence of cell phone use by the drivers or any other distracting behavior. Demographic information on the driver was obtained during previous examinations of the photographs for an unrelated study. A rating was considered reliable when two out of the three coders agreed. Population estimates (and confidence intervals) of cell phone use and other distractions were estimated by weighting the cases by the inverse probability of vehicle selection. Logistic regression was used to predict cell phone use from demographic and situational factors. The results indicated that the most frequent distraction was cell phone use: 1.5% of the drivers on the Turnpike were using cell phones compared to the 3 to 4% use rates reported in the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) surveys conducted during the daytime on lower speed roadways. The Turnpike survey indicated that cell phones were used less on weekends and at night, and when the driver was exceeding the speed limit or had a passenger in the car.

Potential Distractions and Unsafe Driving Behaviors Among Drivers of 1- to 12-Year-Old Children

“…13,14,24 Parents in our study reported more drowsy driving compared with results from a national survey of adult drivers. 33 How the combinations of distractions and unsafe driving behaviors interact to influence the driving performance specifically among drivers of child passengers is not well understood.…”

“…The study team developed survey questions to assess child passenger safety practices based on published literature 1,20,24 and pilot tested the instrument with 21 parents. Modifications were made to clarify confusing questions identified in pilot testing.…”

Instant Mobile Communication, Efficiency, and Quality of Life

“…There is abundant evidence that the use of mobile telephones in vehicles causes distraction 4 and increases the risk of crashes. 5 Technologies that allow for hands-free, voice-activated communication produce less distraction, but inevitably divert some attention away from the task at hand.…”

Driver secondary tasks in Germany: Using interviews to estimate prevalence

“…For these video clips secondary task type was rated and driving parameters with secondary tasks were compared to driving without a secondary task. Johnson et al (2004) analyzed 40,000 photographs taken in July 2001 at the New Jersey Turnpike and rated secondary task occupation of the randomly photographed drivers. Klauer et al (2006) finally reported the part of the 100 car naturalistic driving study concerning driver distraction and inattention and its relation to crashes, near crashes and incidents.…”