By Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
Look around while driving on any average day and distracted driving — especially as it relates to cell phone use and texting while driving — might seem to be more common than ever.
[partner id="arstechnica"]In reality, however, the frequency of drivers using cell phones or texting may be declining, according to a 50-page report put together by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Still, using gadgets behind the wheel remains a safety concern — especially when it comes to texting.
Despite the near universal agreement that distracted driving is a Bad Thing, GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha notes that many research papers on the topic are incomplete or contradictory. Because of this, the GHSA examined more than 350 papers to compile its report. The goal was consolidating the available info and finding trends, though Harsha said further studies are needed to fully understand the scope of the problem.
If there is a problem, that is.
The GHSA report cites the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's annual cell phone and texting survey wherein some 50,000 vehicles are stopped at a representative sample of 1,500 intersections in the United States. Six percent of drivers were using a hand-held phone and 1 percent were seen texting. Those numbers fell to 5 percent and 0.6 percent respectively in 2009. Authorities call that "a statistically significant amount."
It's hard not to be skeptical, though, and the GHSA report includes other self-reported statistics that indicate cell use and texting may be much more common.
For example, 30 percent of 1,947 North Carolina teen drivers revealed in a 2010 survey that they sent texts the last time they drove. What's more, only 2 percent of Kansas drivers between the ages of 18-30 reported never having sent a text while driving. Unsurprisingly, younger drivers were more likely to text and drive than older drivers, though that may be because the young are more likely to text in any scenario.
The report also cites a 2006 study showing that nearly 80 percent of all crashes involved a driver looking away from the roadway just prior to an incident, though the GHSA admits most crashes were "very minor." Data from several other studies led the GHSA to conclude that drivers were distracted in 15 to 30 percent of all crashes (minor to fatal), though it remains unclear whether the distraction itself was a contributing factor. A statistic from the NHTSA said 16 percent of fatal crashes in 2009 involved at least one distracted driver.
Although some drivers attempted to compensate for being distracted by slowing down or increasing distance between them and the vehicle just ahead, others did not. A 2008 study showed most drivers in an experimental setting had no idea how their cell phone use affected their driving skills. Additionally, handheld and hands-free conversations appeared to have the same general effects, though texting while driving was shown in a separate 2009 study to increase the risk of "safety-critical events" to more than 23 times the normal level while driving.
"No other distraction has even this much evidence for its effect on crash risk," wrote the GHSA.
The GHSA has long called for laws banning texting while driving in addition to other restrictions against driving while distracted, and it remains a key recommendation in the latest report. The organization also favors banning novice drivers from using phones at all, a restriction already in place in 30 states and Washington, DC. When combined with rumble strips to alert drivers when they're drifting and better recording of distracted driving instances, the GHSA believes states could see "dramatic declines" in these behaviors.
Whether that's true remains up for debate. A 2010 study conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute revealed that laws banning texting while driving apparently did little to change accident rates, with some states even showing slight increases in accidents after the bans went into place. (The authors theorized that drivers might be making more of an attempt to hide their cell phones while texting and driving after the bans, impairing their driving even further.)
Other studies indicate that there may be strong regional effects within these trends, though, so perhaps it's wise to prioritize education about the risks so that everyone on the road can live to text another day.
Photo: Skip&Nell/Flickr
