During the typical daylight moment in 2004, 5% of drivers on the road were holding cellular phones to their ears, compared to 4% in 2002, and 3% in 2000. These results are from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on driver cell phone use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted annually by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NOPUS’s finding of 5% use of hand-held phones in 2004 translates into an estimated 800,000 vehicles on the road during the typical daylight moment in 2004 driven by someone holding a phone. It also means that approximately 8% of drivers were using wireless phones in some manner, whether they were holding the phone or using some hands-free device. These results were obtained by combining results from the NOPUS with data from the National Household Travel Survey and the research studies (Boyle et al., to appear) and (Stutts et al., 2003). The 2004 NOPUS also found the following: * Hand-held cell phone use increased among drivers between the ages of 16 and 24, from 5% in 2002 to 8% in 2004; * Hand-held cell phone use increased among female drivers, from 4% in 2002 to 6% in 2004; * Drivers are more likely to use their phones when they are driving alone. In 2004, 6% of drivers observed driving alone were holding cell phones, compared to 2% among drivers who had at least one passenger; and * in the first nationwide observed estimate of driver headset use, the NOPUS found that 0.4% of drivers were speaking with headsets on in 2004. (Author/publisher)
Abstract