Distracted Driving

1. Distracted Driving Prepared for Dr. Erdman General Studies 491 Alan Petersen

2. In today’s fast paced world multi-tasking is a fact of life but do we need to do this while behind the wheel?

3. The Fact Is: • Drivers spend an average of 25.5 minutes each day commuting to work according to Data from the 2000 US Census (Stayer, Drews, & Crouch p.381) • Distracted Driving is the cause of 8000 crashes every single day. (AAA Foundation, 2011) • More than 15 people are killed and more than 1200 are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver every day (CDC, 2011)

4. Multi-Tasking Behind The Wheel

6. Why Has The Use of Cellular Phones While Driving Drawn Attention? • More than 322.9 million people now subscribe to wireless services as of June 2011 (CTIA) • More than 73% of these subscribers use their phones while driving (Sundeen p.27) • The growth of wireless technology in the car has been matched by increased complexity and the potential for distractions. • Phones today allow people to send digital pictures, surf the Web, check sports scores or stock prices or get directions.

7. Why Has The Use of Cellular Phones While Driving Drawn Attention?

8. Role of New Technology in Driver Distractibility New technologies are more engaging and interactive than in years past so it is no surprise that these new multi-tasking activities are substantially more distracting and cognitively engaging to someone whose primary task is to be driving a vehicle.

10. Criminal Justice/Political Science Perspectives • Laws • Must be enforceable • Must be tough enough to deter people from continuing to use their cell phones • Need to be a primary rather than a secondary offense • Enforcement program needs to be highly visible • Education • The Connecticut & New York pilot program “Phone in One Hand Ticket in the Other “ proved effective • Hand-held cell phone use while driving dropped 56% in Hartford and 38% in Syracuse. • Texting while driving declined 68% in Hartford and 42% in Syracuse (US DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

11. Community Development Perspective • Advantages of cell phones in vehicles • Increased productivity • Confirm appointments • Faster accident reporting • Ability to give more detailed information on accident site • Improves medical assistance & survival rates for accident victims • Real time Reporting • Ex: suspected drunk driving • Aides police in apprehension of these persons

12. Community Development Perspective • Disadvantages of cell phones in vehicles • Safety concerns • Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road an average of 4.6 seconds – at 55 mph that is the length of a football field • Liability concerns for both individuals and employers • Employers are liable and can be held accountable • Traffic delays and congestion • Rear end collisions account for 28% of all crashes, resulting in 157 hours of delay annually. Distracted driving is a contributing factor in 60% of these crashes.

13. Relevant Findings – Effects of mobile phone use during driving • Cell phone drivers had slower reactions, had longer following distances, took longer to recover speed lost following a braking episode, and were involved in more accidents. (Strayer, Drews, & Crouch p.388) • No significant difference between hand held and hands free cell phone • Drivers using a cell phone took 19% longer to recover the speed lost following a braking episode where traffic flow is high • Likely to decrease overall traffic flow and increase traffic congestion

14. Relevant Findings – Driver’s Perceptions of Risks and Driving Skills • Drivers were asked to judge the magnitude of risk of different activities while driving with 1 being not dangerous and 10 being extremely dangerous. • Those surveyed listed conversing on a mobile phone as one of the least risky behaviors, while dialing the phone was considered to be highly risky. • Indicates that drivers understand the risk of handling a phone but do not understand the magnitude of talking over the phone • Drivers who are overconfident or unaware of their skills and ability to deal with distractions are more willing to engage in secondary tasks. • Putting themselves and their passengers at greater risk for an accident

16. Conclusion • Distracted Driving is a growing public safety hazard and with the growing volume of cellular phones subscribers fatalities attributed to is likely to keep rising. • Laws banning or limiting the use of cell phones need to be paired with effective enforcement that deters drivers from using these devices while driving. • Education programs like the successful pilot programs in New York and Connecticut should be teamed with this new legislation. • Companies and organizations need to take a proactive approach with their employees with regard to multi-tasking while driving.

17. References • AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2011). Distracted Driving. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: http://www.aaafoundation.org/multimedia/distracteddriving.cfm • Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. (n.d.). CTIA Advocacy. Retrieved November 1, 2011, from CTIA : http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/aid/10323 • Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, July 29). Prevention and Control: Motor Vehicle Safety. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/index.html • Donmez, B., Ng Boyle, L., & Lee, J. (2006). The Impact of Distraction Mitigation Strategies on Driving Performance. Human Factors , 785-804. • Halsey, A. (2011, July 11). Distracted Drivers Heeding Penalties. Washington Post , p. A6. • Hancock, P., Lesch, M., & Simmons, L. (2003). The distraction effects of phone use during a crucial driving maneuver. Orlando : Elsevier Science Ltd. • Horrey, W. J., & Melton, D. (2010). Distractied Driving: Examining the Effects of In-Vehicle Tasks. Professional Safety , 34-39. • Jamson, A. H., Westerman, S. H., & Carsten, O. (2004). Speech-Based E-Mail and Driver Behavior: Effects of an In-Vehicle Message System Interface. Human Factors , 625-639.

18. References • Jarvis, S. (1994, February). Dialing While Driving Can Be A Costly Business Call. HR Focus , 3. • Kidd, D., & Horrey, W. (2010). Distracted Driving: Do Drivers' Perceptions of Distractions Become More Accurate Over Time? Professional Safety , 40-45. • Lee, J. D., McGehee, D. V., Brown, T., & Reyes, M. (2002). Collision Warning Timing, Driver Distraction, and Driver Response to Imminent Rear-End Collisions in a High-Fidelity Driving Simulator. Human Factors , 314-344. • Precious, T. (2010, May 10). Push Is on to Make Messaging While Driving a Primary Offense. Buffalo News . • Ropeik, D., & Gray, G. (2003). Cell Phones and Driving: How Risky? Consumers' Research Magazine , 14-16. • Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. (2006). A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver. Human Factors , 381-391. • Sundeen, M. (2003). Driving Hazards: The Phone Factor. State Legislatures , 26-30. • Svenson, O., & Patten, C. (2005). Mobile Phones and Driving: A Review of Contemporary Research. Stockholm: Springer-Verlag London Limited. • Wogalter, M., & Mayhorn, C. (2005). Perceptions of Driver Distraction by Cellular Phone Users and Nonusers. Human Factors , 455-467.

19. Graphic/Video Resources • http://www.myride.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/8609/filters/news • http://kingdomtelco.wordpress.com/2011/01/ • http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdistracteddriving/ • http://www.parrot.com/usa/responsibledriving/?tag=distracted-driving • http://ilookbothways.com/tag/texting/ • http://www.distraction.gov/download/research-pdf/High-Visibility-Enforcement-Demo.pdf • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3x7K3EOTk • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZgBqdIEiA