Distracted driving contributes to a large proportion of motor vehicle crashes. Therefore knowledge of user behaviour regarding the use of smartphones while driving is essential information for road safety activities. However, no periodic assessment of the prevalence of smartphone use among passenger vehicle drivers has been done in Germany so far. Aiming to fill this gap, a concept for such a periodic assessment was developed for Germany and was tested in a small scale pilot study. At first, a comprehensive literature review of observational studies was done. The assessment concept is based on the representative assessment of seatbelt use, done by BASt since the 1970s yet. Also a roadside observational approach is used to estimate prevalence of smartphone use while driving. The observations are done on motorways, rural roads and urban roads. A pilot study confirmed that observations from the roadside are an effective tool to assess smartphone use while driving. The observations should be done in teams of two observers. A tablet deployment proved to be useful to assess data. Detailed information on how the periodic assessment should be conducted. (Author/publisher)
Abstract