1. Report No.
DOT HS 809
566
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2.Government
Accession No.
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3.Recipient's
Catalog No.
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4.Title
and Subtitle
Volume I:Findings
National Survey of Distracted
and Drowsy Driving
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5.Report
Date
April, 2003
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Attitudes and Behavior:2002
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6.Performing
Organization Code
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7.Author(s)
Dawn Royal
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8.Performing
Organization Report No.
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9.Performing
Organization Name and Address
The Gallup Organization
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10.
Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
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901
F Street, NW – Suite 400
Washington
DC20004
202-715-3030
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11.Contract
or Grant No.
282-00-0017
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12.
Sponsoring
Agency Name and Address
U.S. Department of Transportation
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13.
Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report
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National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Office of Research and
Traffic Records
Washington, D.C.20590
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14.Sponsoring
Agency Code
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15.Supplementary
Notes
Paul J. Tremont, Ph.D.
was Contracting Officer's Technical Representative
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16.Abstract
This report represents the findings on distracted
driving (including cell phone use) and drowsy driving. The data
come from a pair of studies undertaken by National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) to better understand drivers'
behaviors and attitudes regarding speeding, unsafe driving,
distracted and drowsy driving.This report, Volume I:Findings National Survey of Distracted
and Drowsy Driving reports respondent's behaviors and attitudes
on various topics related to distracted and drowsy driving.
Volume II:Findings Speeding and Unsafe Driving presents
the data on those topics, while Volume III:Methods
Report describes the methods used to conduct the interviews
and analyze the data, and also contains the questionnaires.
The data will be used to help identify the extent to which potentially
distracting behaviors are undertaken by drivers and to understand
the characteristics of those engaging in these behaviors so
that programs can be developed to reduce these behaviors where
they have been shown to be dangerous.The data come from two
surveys each conducted among nationally representative samples
of drivers during the Spring of 2002. Interviews were conducted
with a total of 4,010 drivers in the U.S.
The
survey findings show that most drivers at least occasionally
engage in behaviors that draw some of their attention away from
their driving task. The most common of these behaviors
include general activities of talking with other passengers
(81%), changing radio stations or CDs (66%), and eating or drinking
while driving (49%). While it is estimated that more than a
billion driving trips are made weekly by drivers engaging in
each of these behaviors, fewer than one in four drivers
perceive these particular activities as distracting or as making
driving much more dangerous.
About
one in four drivers uses a cell phone while driving for either
inbound (26%) or outbound calls (25%), while a similar proportion
deals with children in a back seat (24%). Close to one-half
of drivers perceive these behaviors to make driving much more
dangerous, although drivers who use cell phones are only half
as less likely as non-users to feel cell phone use is dangerous.
About
one quarter (26%) of drivers have been involved in a crash in
the past five years. About 3.5% of drivers attribute a crash
they've had in the past 5 years to their being distracted (including
0.8% looking for something outside of their vehicle and 0.7%
dealing with children), seven-tenths of 1 percent (0.7%) attribute
a crash they've had to drowsy driving, while one-tenth of 1
percent (0.1%) of drivers attribute a crash they've had to their
cell phone use.
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17.Key
Words
Driving, Attitudes, Survey,
Distracted Driving, Drowsy Driving, Cell Phone Use
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18.Distribution
Statement
This report and database
are available from the National Technical Information Service,
Springfield, VA (703) 487-4650, and is free of charge on the
NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
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19.Security
Classif.(of this report)
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20.Security
Classif.(of this page)
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21.No.
of Pages
68
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22.Price
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