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Zhang F, Benedetti M, Chang G, Evans A, Pan Y, Shoots-Reinhard B, Zhu M. Demographic characteristics and trends of cell phone use while driving citations in selected states in the United States, 2010-2020. TRAFFIC INJURY PREVENTION 2024:1-7. [PMID: 38860880 DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2024.2351605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Distracted driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes, and cell phone use is a major source of in-vehicle distraction. Many states in the United States have enacted cell phone use laws to regulate drivers' cell phone use behavior to enhance traffic safety. Numerous studies have examined the effects of such laws on drivers' cell phone use behavior based on self-reported and roadside observational data. However, little was known about who actually violated the laws at the enforcement level. This study sought to uncover the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving and whether these characteristics changed over time since the enactment of cell phone laws. METHODS We acquired useable traffic citation data for 7 states in the United States from 2010 to 2020 and performed descriptive and regression analyses. RESULTS Male drivers were cited more for cell phone use while driving. Handheld and texting bans were associated with a greater proportion of cited drivers aged 40 and above, compared to texting-only bans. Trends in the citations issued based on drivers' age group following the enactment of different cell phone laws were also uncovered. The proportion of citations issued to drivers aged 60 and above increased over time but the temporal trend remained insignificant when population effect was considered. CONCLUSIONS This study examined the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving in selected states with texting-only bans or handheld and texting bans. The results reveal policy-based differences in trends in the proportion of citations issued to drivers in different age groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangda Zhang
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Marco Benedetti
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Gregory Chang
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Alexander Evans
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Yuhan Pan
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Brittany Shoots-Reinhard
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Motao Zhu
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
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Voinea GD, Boboc RG, Buzdugan ID, Antonya C, Yannis G. Texting While Driving: A Literature Review on Driving Simulator Studies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:4354. [PMID: 36901364 PMCID: PMC10001711 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20054354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Road safety is increasingly threatened by distracted driving. Studies have shown that there is a significantly increased risk for a driver of being involved in a car crash due to visual distractions (not watching the road), manual distractions (hands are off the wheel for other non-driving activities), and cognitive and acoustic distractions (the driver is not focused on the driving task). Driving simulators (DSs) are powerful tools for identifying drivers' responses to different distracting factors in a safe manner. This paper aims to systematically review simulator-based studies to investigate what types of distractions are introduced when using the phone for texting while driving (TWD), what hardware and measures are used to analyze distraction, and what the impact of using mobile devices to read and write messages while driving is on driving performance. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A total of 7151 studies were identified in the database search, of which 67 were included in the review, and they were analyzed in order to respond to four research questions. The main findings revealed that TWD distraction has negative effects on driving performance, affecting drivers' divided attention and concentration, which can lead to potentially life-threatening traffic events. We also provide several recommendations for driving simulators that can ensure high reliability and validity for experiments. This review can serve as a basis for regulators and interested parties to propose restrictions related to using mobile phones in a vehicle and improve road safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gheorghe-Daniel Voinea
- Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 29 Eroilor Blvd., 500036 Brasov, Romania
| | - Răzvan Gabriel Boboc
- Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 29 Eroilor Blvd., 500036 Brasov, Romania
| | - Ioana-Diana Buzdugan
- Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 29 Eroilor Blvd., 500036 Brasov, Romania
| | - Csaba Antonya
- Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 29 Eroilor Blvd., 500036 Brasov, Romania
| | - George Yannis
- Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 5 Heroon Polytechniou str., GR-15773 Athens, Greece
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Benedetti MH, Lu B, Kinnear N, Li L, Delgado MK, Zhu M. The impact of Illinois' comprehensive handheld phone ban on talking on handheld and handsfree cellphones while driving. JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH 2023; 84:273-279. [PMID: 36868656 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2022.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Distracted driving has been linked to multiple driving decrements and is responsible for thousands of motor-vehicle fatalities annually. Most U.S. states have enacted restrictions on cellphone use while driving, the strictest of which prohibit any manual operation of a cellphone while driving. Illinois enacted such a law in 2014. To better understand how this law affected cellphone behaviors while driving, associations between Illinois' handheld phone ban and self-reported talking on handheld, handsfree, and any cellphone (handheld or handsfree) while driving were estimated. METHODS Data from annual administrations of the Traffic Safety Culture Index from 2012-2017 in Illinois and a set of control states were leveraged. The data were cast into a difference-in-differences (DID) modeling framework, which compared Illinois to control states in terms of pre- to post-intervention changes in the proportion of drivers who self-reported the three outcomes. Separate models for each outcome were fit, and additional models were fit to the subset of drivers who talk on cellphones while driving. RESULTS In Illinois, the pre- to post-intervention decrease in the drivers' probability of self-reporting talking on a handheld phone was significantly more extreme than that of drivers in control states (DID estimate -0.22; 95% CI -0.31, -0.13). Among drivers who talk on cellphones while driving, those in Illinois exhibited a more extreme increase in the probability of talking on a handsfree phone while driving than those control states (DID estimate 0.13; 95% CI 0.03, 0.23). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that Illinois' handheld phone ban reduced talking on handheld phones while driving among study participants. They also corroborate the hypothesis that the ban promoted substitution from handheld to handsfree phones among drivers who talk on the phone while driving. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS These findings should encourage other states to enact comprehensive handheld phone bans to improve traffic safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco H Benedetti
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
| | - Bo Lu
- Division of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, 1841 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | | | - Li Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya College of Public Health, Central South University, No.932 South Lushan Road, Changsha, Hunan 410083, PR China
| | - M Kit Delgado
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and the Penn Injury Science Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 423 Guardian Dr., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Motao Zhu
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43215, USA; Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, 1841 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 370 W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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Benedetti MH, Li L, Shen S, Kinnear N, Delgado MK, Zhu M. Talking on hands-free and handheld cellphones while driving in association with handheld phone bans. JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH 2022; 83:204-209. [PMID: 36481010 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2022.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Concurrent use of a cellphone while driving impairs driving abilities, and studies of policy effectiveness in reducing distracted driving have yielded mixed results. Furthermore, few studies have considered how hands-free phone use associates with handheld phone bans. It is not clear whether hand-held phone bans dissuade some drivers from using the phone while driving completely, or whether it simply promotes a shift to hands-free use. The present study estimates the association between handheld phone policies and self-reported talking on hands-free and handheld cellphones while driving. METHODS Our data consisted of 16,067 respondents to annual administrations of the Traffic Safety Culture Index from 2012-2017. Our primary exposure variable was handheld phone policy, and our primary outcome variables were self-reported talking on any phone, self-reported talking on a handheld phone, and self-reported talking on a hands-free phone while driving. We estimated adjusted prevalence ratios of the outcomes associated with handheld phone bans via modified Poisson regression. RESULTS Drivers in states with handheld bans were 13% less likely to self-report talking on any type of cellphone (handheld or hands-free) while driving. When broken down by cellphone type, drivers in states with handheld bans were 38% less likely to self-report talking on a handheld phone and 10% more likely to self-report talking on a hands-free phone while driving. CONCLUSIONS Handheld phone bans were associated with more self-reported talking on hands-free phones and less talking on handheld phones, consistent with a substitution hypothesis. Handheld bans were also associated with less talking on any phone while driving, supporting a net safety benefit. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In the absence of a national ban on handheld phone use while driving, our study supports state handheld phone bans to deter distracted driving and improve traffic safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco H Benedetti
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
| | - Li Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya College of Public Health, Central South University, No. 932 South Lushan Road, Changsha, Hunan 410083, PR China
| | - Sijun Shen
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
| | | | - M Kit Delgado
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and the Penn Injury Science Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 423 Guardian Dr., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Motao Zhu
- The Center for Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43215, USA; Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, 1841 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 370 W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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Wright NA, Dorilas E. Do Cellphone Bans Save Lives? Evidence From Handheld Laws on Traffic Fatalities. JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS 2022; 85:102659. [PMID: 35878573 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of fatal motor vehicle accidents in the United States. Policymakers in several states have responded to this phenomenon by implementing laws that restrict the use of handheld devices while operating a vehicle. In this paper, we utilize various quasi-experimental designs to estimate the impact of state-level handheld mandates on traffic fatalities. We find robust evidence that restricting the use of handheld devices while driving reduces daily traffic fatalities by 0.63 individuals in the short term. The results further indicate that while the magnitude of the impact is smaller in the long term, this policy is still effective at curbing traffic fatalities, saving more than 69 lives per state each year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A Wright
- Department of Economics and Finance, Lutgert College of Business, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States.
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