Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What States Can Do

This report reviews and summarizes distracted driving research available as of January 2011 to inform states and other organizations as they consider distracted driving countermeasures. It concentrates on distractions produced by cell phones, text messaging, and other electronic devices brought into the vehicle. It also considers other distractions that drivers choose to engage in, such as eating and drinking, personal grooming, reading, and talking to passengers. It addresses distractions associated with vehicle features only briefly. They have been studied extensively by automobile manufacturers, but states have little role in addressing them. States can and should take four steps that will help reduce distracted driving immediately and in the future. 1. Continue to implement effective low-cost roadway distracted driving countermeasures such as edgeline and centerline rumble strips. 2. Record distracted driving in crash reports to the extent possible, to assist in evaluating distracted driving laws and programs. 3. Monitor the impact of existing hand-held cell phone bans prior to enacting new laws. States that have not already passed handheld bans should wait until more definitive research and data are available on these laws’ effectiveness. 4. Evaluate other distracted driving laws and programs. Evaluation will provide the information states need on which countermeasures are effective and which are not.

• Record URL:
  http://sha2.aladata.com/articles/GHSA_distracted_driving_FullRpt-7Jul11.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Governors Highway Safety Association

  444 North Capitol Street, Suite 722
  Washington, DC    20001

  State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

  Public Affairs Department, One State Farm Plaza
  Bloomington, IL  United States  61710
• Authors:
  • Hedlund, James
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 50p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attention; Countermeasures; Distraction; High risk drivers; Highway safety; Mobile telephones; Research; State laws; Text messaging; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driving while telephoning
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01345748
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 28 2011 2:22PM