The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation promotes the safety of motor vehicles and their occupants. The broad mission of NHTSA includes the reduction of traffic-related fatalities and injuries, reducing the economic repercussions of crashes, and promoting issues surrounding improved safety and responsible behavior among drivers. The increase in cell phone ownership and usage combined with the widespread availability of many other devices that can easily divert drivers’ attention from the task of driving an automobile have made information on drivers’ behaviors and attitudes toward distracted driving important to the safety of America’s roadways. The most common activities that drivers engage in while driving include talking with other passengers, changing radio stations or searching for CDs, making cell phone calls, receiving cell phone calls, dealing with children in the back seat, reading maps or directions, personal grooming, reading printed material, responding to pagers or beepers, using wireless Internet, and using GPS such as in-car navigation systems (Royal, 2003). The use of technological devices while driving has become a focus of distracted driving research. In particular, use of cell phones while driving has been of increasing interest in the past decade. In 2010, 41% of drivers in the United States reported using cell phones to make or receive calls on at least some of their driving trips, and 17% reported using some type of hands-free device when using cell phones (Tison, Chaudhary, & Cosgrove, 2011). Driver distraction contributes to crash-related fatalities and injuries, particularly among younger drivers, with 13% of drivers in fatal distraction-affected crashes under age 20. Overall, 9% of fatal crashes in the United States in 2010 involved driver distraction, and 13% of the drivers in these fatal crashes were reported to have been using a cell phone at the time of the crash (National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2012). To better understand the attitudes and self-reported behaviors related to cell phones, texting, and distracted driving, NHTSA conducted the National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors in 2010, and again in 2012. This report presents findings from the 2012 National Survey on Distracted Driving (NSDDAB). Specifically, the 2012 NSDDAB survey assessed the extent to which drivers are distracted by various activities; demographic and typological descriptions of drivers prone to distractions; the extent and frequency of using cell phones while driving; attitudes and perceptions about distracted driving; the extent and frequency of texting while driving; knowledge of and attitudes toward measures to deter distracted driving; perceptions about the danger of distracted driving; exposure to the consequences of distracted driving; willingness to intervene when someone is distracted while driving; and changes and trends in distracted driving behavior and attitudes since 2010. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting