Executive Summary
Background
The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) mission is to save lives, prevent
injuries, and reduce traffic-related healthcare and other economic costs. While
much focus has been placed in recent years on alcohol-related driving and speeding,
less focus has been paid to other forms of potentially unsafe driving behaviors
that draw drivers’ attention away from the primary task of driving such as
distracted and drowsy driving. However,
a recent surge in legislation meant to curb cell phone use while driving has
increased interest in these and other forms of potentially distracting
activities for drivers.
NHTSA undertook this
nationally representative survey of drivers in order to collect data on the
nature and scope of the distracted driving problem with the intent of
understanding how serious the problem is in the public’s eyes, and what
countermeasures the public may accept to control distracted driving.
Telephone
interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of 4,010 drivers
(age 16 or older) in the United States between February 4 and April 14, 2002. The
data presented in this document are based on the self-reported responses from
these surveyed drivers.
Key
Findings
Engaging in Potentially
Distracting Behaviors While Driving
We considered 12
potentially distracting behaviors in this study and asked drivers how often
they personally engaged in each behavior while driving.
The vast
majority of drivers engage in two of the behaviors on at
least some driving trips, including:
·
Talking with other passengers (81%)
·
Changing radio stations or looking for CDs or tapes (66%)
Nearly half
(49%) eat or drink while driving at least some of the time, while the following
three activities are performed by about one in four drivers (at least some of
the time):
·
Making outgoing calls on a cell phone (25%)
·
Taking incoming calls on a cell phone (26%)
·
Dealing with children riding in the rear seat (24%)
The other six
activities are undertaken by about one in ten or fewer drivers on at least some
driving trips:
·
Reading a map or directions while driving (12%)
·
Personal grooming (8%)
·
Reading printed material (4%)
·
Responding to a beeper or pager (3%)
·
Using wireless remote Internet access (2%)
·
Using telematics such as in-car navigation or crash avoidance
systems (2%)
Frequency of Engaging in
Potentially Distracting Behaviors While Driving
Based on
projections from the sampled drivers, drivers report making an estimated 4.2 billion
one-way driving trips in a typical week.
The preliminary estimate from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey
(NHHTS1), which acquired personal travel data between March 2001
and May 2002, reported that drivers made about 6.0 billion one-way trips each
week. The higher NHHTS figure is likely
due to interviewing differences and questionnaire design (e.g., this study did
not undertake to acquire extensive data on trip detail or segment definition as
did the NHHTS). The measurement in this
survey is intended to obtain relative
estimates of engagement in potentially distracting behaviors in relation to
other behaviors. Consequently, compared
to the NHHTS, the actual estimates of trips could be underestimated by
as much as 30%.
To provide estimates of weekly trips involving each behavior, the reported proportion of trips in which the driver engages in a given behavior ¾ such as “on all or most trips” or “on about three-quarters of driving trips” ¾ was applied to the number of total reported weekly driving trips. The formula used in these calculations can be found on page 24 of the report.
Drivers make the
following estimated number of driving trips each
week while engaging in a potentially distracting behavior on at least some portion
of a driving trip:
·
2.38 billion trips while talking to passengers (56% of all trips)
·
1.92 billion trips while changing the radio station or looking for
CDs or tapes (45% of all trips)
·
1.25 billion trips while eating or drinking (30% of all trips)
·
792 million trips while taking incoming cell phone calls (19% of
all trips)
·
776 million trips while making outgoing cell phone calls (18% of
all trips)
·
776 million trips while dealing with children in the back seat
(18% of all trips)
·
414 million trips while looking at maps or directions (10% of all
trips)
·
349 million trips while undertaking personal grooming (8% of all
trips)
·
131 million trips while responding to a beeper or pager (3% of all
trips)
·
116 million trips while using wireless Internet access (3% of all
trips)
·
59 million trips whiles using navigation or crash avoidance
systems (1% of all trips)
Wireless Cell Phone Use
While six in ten
(60%) drivers report having a cellular or wireless phone, more than half of
those with cell phones say they never or rarely use the cell phone while
driving to make outgoing or take incoming calls (58% and 56%
respectively). While a small proportion
of drivers use cell phones only for outbound (5%) or only for
inbound (4%) calls, 21% use them for both inbound and outbound calls at least
occasionally. Thus about 30% of all
drivers use a cell phone while driving to make outgoing OR incoming calls on at
least some of their driving trips.
Wireless phone
use is currently receiving a great deal of legislative attention with several
municipalities recently having passed (or considering passing) laws that
prohibit or limit cell phone use (or hand-held cell phone use) while
driving. Some of the legislation seems
to be based on the belief that the use of hands-free devices is less
distracting and may be preferable to hand-held phones. However, others believe that any activity
involving mental (such as conversation) or physical (such as eating or playing
with the radio) involvement distracts drivers, and that hands-free phones
simply offer convenience to drivers.
The current
study finds that about one-third (34%) of drivers who do use a cell phone while
driving use a hands-free model with speakerphone or head phones (32% of those
using cell phones for outbound calls and 36% using them for inbound
calls). About 263 million of the 776
million weekly trips made using a cell phone for outgoing calls are made
using a hands-free phone. While
approximately 291 million of the 792 weekly trips using a cell phone for incoming
calls are made using a hands-free phone.
Cell phone using
drivers estimate that they spend an average of 4.5 minutes per call while
driving. However, 13% of drivers
typically spend 10 minutes or more per call.
Involvement in Crash as a
Result of Wireless Phone Use
Approximately
one in four (26%) drivers report involvement in a motor vehicle crash in the
past five years. One tenth of one
percent (0.1%) of all drivers (0.5% of drivers who use a cell phone while
driving) attribute a crash they’ve had to cell phone use. This equates to an estimated
292,000 drivers who report involvement in a crash they attribute to cell phone
use in the past five years.
Involvement in a Crash as a
Result of Distracted Driving
While cell phones are reported to contribute to some automobile crashes, other forms of distracted driving appear to play a much more significant role. Several behaviors reportedly account for many more crashes than do cell phones.
About 3.5% of all drivers have been involved in a crash in the past five years they attribute to their being distracted ¾ equating to an estimated 6.0 million to 8.3 million drivers.
Drivers involved
in a distracted-related crash attribute their distraction to the following
activities:
·
Looking for something outside of the car (building, street sign,
etc.) (23% of drivers in a distracted related crash; 0.8% of all drivers)
·
Dealing with children or other passengers (19%; 0.7% of all
drivers)
·
Looking for something inside the car (14%; 0.5% of all drivers)
·
Another driver (11%; 0.4% of all drivers)
·
Personal thoughts/thinking (5%; 0.2% of all drivers)
·
Looking at an animal outside of the car (3%; 0.1% of all drivers)
·
Dealing with technology (primarily radio) (2%; 0.1% of all
drivers)
·
Other distractions (23%; 0.8% of all drivers)
Perceptions of Actions That
Distract Drivers
We asked drivers
to rate 12 potentially distracting behaviors that may make driving more
dangerous. Drivers perceive the
following four behaviors to be the most distracting:
·
Reading printed materials such as a book, newspaper, or mail (80%
feel it makes driving much more dangerous)
·
Using wireless remote Internet equipment (such as a PDA or
wireless e-mail) (63%)
·
Personal grooming (61%)
·
Looking at maps or directions (55%)
Slightly less than half of all drivers feel that engaging in the following behaviors while driving make driving “much more dangerous”:
·
Making outgoing cell phone calls (48%)
·
Taking incoming cell phone calls (44%)
·
Answering or checking a pager or beeper (43%)
·
Dealing with children in the back seat (40%)
One in four or fewer drivers perceive the following activities to be distracting while driving and make driving “much more dangerous”:
·
Using navigation or crash avoidance systems (23%)
·
Changing the radio station or looking for CDs or tapes (18%)
·
Eating or drinking (17%)
·
Talking to other passengers (4%)
Not surprisingly, drivers who themselves engage in each behavior are less likely to feel it makes driving more dangerous than those who do not engage in the behavior.
Perceived Severity of the
Threat of Others’ Behavior
Not only do
drivers perceive distracting behaviors as more dangerous, but drivers also feel
some actions are a major threat to their personal safety. Seven out of ten (70%) drivers feel it is a
major threat to their safety when other drivers look at maps or directions
while driving. Fifty-two percent (52%)
feel that others’ use of cell phones while driving is a major threat to their
personal safety. These relative perceptions
of reading and using a cell phone while driving as major threats to one’s
personal safety are similar to those reported earlier on overall perceptions of
how dangerous these activities are (70% and 48% respectively).
Drivers who do
not use cell phones while driving are three times as likely as drivers who use
them to feel such behavior by others is a major personal safety threat.
Support for Initiatives to
Curtail Cell Phone Use While Driving
The majority of
drivers support the five potential actions measured in the survey to reduce
cell phone use while driving. Specifically, they support:
·
Increased public awareness of the risk of wireless phone use while
driving (88% support)
·
A restriction on hand-held phones while driving ¾ only allowing hands-free
or voice-activated car-mounted phones (71%)
·
Insurance penalties for being involved in a crash while using a
cell phone (67%)
·
Double or triple fines for traffic violations involving cell phone
use (61%)
·
A ban on all wireless phone use while a car is moving (except for
911 calls) (57%)
While drivers who use cell phones are as likely as non-users to support initiatives involving increased awareness of the risks of cell phone use while driving, and a majority support restrictions on hand held phone use while driving, they generally do not support the use of increased traffic fines or a ban on wireless phones. Specifically, cell phone-using drivers show much lower support than non-users for:
·
Increased fines for traffic violations when a cell phone is
involved (only about 40% of drivers using cell phones support increased fines
compared to 70% support by drivers who do not use cell phones while driving).
·
A
ban on all wireless phone use in a moving car (about a quarter support such an
action as compared to 69% support for drivers who don’t use cell phones)
Drowsy Driving
This study also examined prevalence and conditions of drowsy driving. While the issue of drowsy driving is not currently receiving the attention in the media or among the general public as is the use of cell phones while driving, a significant number of drivers have experienced drowsy driving. Specifically:
·
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of drivers have nodded off for at least
a moment or fallen asleep while driving at least once in their driving career
·
Eight percent (8%) have done so in the past six months
Nodding off or
falling asleep recently is most prevalent among drivers age 21-29 (13%) and
males (11%) and least prevalent among drivers over age 64 (4%) and females
(5%).
Characteristics of
Drowsy Driving Trips
The average
drowsy driving experience is associated with the following characteristics:
·
Driver averaged 6.0 hours of sleep the previous night (and 24% had
slept fewer than five hours)
·
Driver had been driving for an average of 2.9 hours (but 22% had
been driving for more than four hours)
·
Occurred while driving on an interstate type highway with posted
speeds of 55 mph or higher (59%)
·
Nearly half (48%) nodded off between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Involvement in a Crash
as a Result of Drowsy Driving
In
the past five years, about 0.7% of drivers have been involved in a crash that
they attribute to drowsy driving ¾ amounting to an estimated
800,000 to 1.88 million drivers.
Preventative Actions
for Drowsy Driving
When asked what actions they take when they feel sleepy while driving, 43% of drivers report they pull over and rest or nap. While drivers may feel a social desirability to offer this response, it may also depend on the level of sleepiness experienced. The severity of a driver’s drowsiness was not accounted for in this study.
Other key
behaviors reported by drivers to combat sleepiness while driving include:
·
Open the window (26%)
·
Get coffee, soda, or caffeine (17%)
·
Pull over/get off the road (15%)
· Play the radio loudly (14%)