This study represents a follow-on to an earlier study of cell phone use while driving in North Carolina (see C 25519). That study involved five tasks: (1) a review of the literature; (2) a review of recent legislative activity related to cell phone use while driving; (3) an observational study of cell phone use while driving in North Carolina; (4) pilot-testing of a supplemental data collection form by the N.C. State Highway Patrol; and (5) a computerised search of police crash report narrative data to identify cell-phone related crashes. Among other findings, the observational portion of the study (Task 3) revealed that at any point in time, an estimated 3.1 percent of drivers in the state were using cell phones. Observed usage was highest in the more urban central region of the state, for younger drivers, drivers of sport utility vehicles, and drivers of white ethnicity. Usage was also higher during afternoon as opposed to morning hours, and for those driving without a front seat passenger in their vehicle. The piloting of a supplementary data collection form by the State Highway Patrol (Task 4) resulted in 11 identified cell phone crashes over a two-month period in three of the state’s eight highway patrol districts. This translated into one in 608 reported crashes. Finally, the computerised search of crash report narratives (Task 5) showed rapid growth in the number of reported crashes, from just 22 crashes in 1996, to 231 for the first eight months of 2000. Talking on the cell phone was the most frequently identified driver activity, followed by answering the phone and then reaching for the phone. The current effort extends on this initial study in three areas. First, a state-wide telephone survey was carried out to gather information on cell phone use and user characteristics, along with drivers’ opinions regarding the safety and potential regulation of cell phone use while driving. The survey targeted 500 users and 150 non-users of cell phones. Secondly, using the 452 cell phone crashes identified from the earlier computerised narrative search of N.C. crash data, an analysis of the characteristics of cell phone-related, versus non-cell phone-related, crashes was carried out. Lastly, the supplementary data collection activity by the State Highway Patrol was expanded to include all troops state-wide, and data collected over a similar two-month period during the spring and early summer of 2002. The three chapters that follow present more detailed information on each of these activities. Each includes a review of relevant background literature, a description of the study methods, a presentation and discussion of the results, and a listing of cited references. A final chapter summarises and discusses key findings from all three activities. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting