This study explored several dimensions of the growing trend of talking on a cell phone while driving. It did so by (1) reviewing the recent research – epidemiological studies; case analyses of cell phone-related crashes; and driver performance studies; (2) reporting on recent legislative activity regarding the use of cell phones while driving; (3) analysing data from an observational study of the “who, what, when, where and how many” of cell phone use while driving in North Carolina; (4) pilot-testing the use of a supplemental data form by the N.C. Highway Patrol to report additional information on crashes where a cell phone was involved; and (5) analysing police narratives for crashes where the use of a cell phone by the driver was indicated by the investigating officer. As part of this overall investigation, an observational study was undertaken in North Carolina to determine the characteristics of drivers who use hand-held cell phones while driving. Characteristics of cell phone users were observed at 85 sites across the State. A total of 14,059 vehicles were observed including 1,070 drivers who were using cell phones. The results of this investigation indicate that cell phone usage was associated with front seat occupancy, vehicle type, and driver age, ethnicity, and restraint usage. Drivers who were using a cell phone while driving were more likely to be driving without a front seat passenger, driving a sport utility vehicle, younger, white, and using seat belts. Data collected concurrently indicated that the cell phone prevalence rate is 3.1 percent, which is consistent with recent studies carried out nationally by NHTSA (3.0%) and by researchers in Texas (around 5.0%). This prevalence rate is a snapshot of cell phone use by drivers state-wide at any given moment during the daytime. The rate is higher in the Piedmont (4.1%) as compared to the Mountains (2.2%) and Coastal (1.5%) regions. Cell phone usage increased somewhat during the day from 2.7 percent in the morning to 3.5 percent in the late afternoon. As seen in the review of the literature, one of the major unknowns in this area is the magnitude of the risk of a crash to a driver talking on a cell phone. This question will become more prominent in the future with the inclusion of more in-vehicle information/guidance systems brought about by the many advancements in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) arena. To date, most – if not all – crash data is inadequate to appropriately address this basic question. Two separate studies were carried out to examine the involvement of and circumstances pertaining to cell phone use in crashes. The first involved a pilot study with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, where investigating Troopers completed a special cell phone-related form for crashes where a cell phone was being used. Over a two-month period involving 3 Troops of the Patrol, there were a total of eleven crashes out of 6,686 (or 0.16%) for which a cell phone appeared to play a role in the crash. In other words, about one in 600 crashes in the study appeared to involve the use of a cell phone while driving. And, upon examining the hard-copy police crash reports for 10 of these crashes, “cell phone” was mentioned in the narratives for only five of these cases. The second study was a follow-up to an earlier analysis carried out by NHTSA in 1997. In this follow-up, a computerised search of all hard-copy narratives for crashes occurring in North Carolina between January 1, 1996 and August 31, 2000 was carried out. There has been exponential growth in the frequency with which cell phone use is mentioned in the police narratives over the period (i.e., 22 in 1966, 35 in 1997, 53 in 1998, 111 in 1999 and 231 for the first eight months of 2000). This certainly reflects the rapid growth in cell phone use in recent years. Over the period covering both the NHTSA analysis and also the current follow-up, the most common driver action was “talking on the phone” (46%) followed by “answering the phone” (15%) and “reaching for the phone” (10%). Clearly there is a critical need for better crash information if the risk of crashing while using a cell phone is to be appropriately estimated. Without this information, there remains a very important unanswered question: “Just how dangerous is it to be talking on a cell phone while driving?” Similar questions will be raised with respect to the distractions that are to be anticipated with the introduction of increasingly more ITS in-vehicle navigational and warning devices. (A) For the abstract of a follow-on study of cell phone use while driving in North Carolina see C 25520.
Abstract