Lyu C, Ponce Jewell M, Cloud J, Smith LV, Kuo T. Driving Distractions Among Public Health Center Clients: A Look at Local Patterns During the Infancy of Distracted Driving Laws in California.
Front Public Health 2019;
7:207. [PMID:
31440492 PMCID:
PMC6694288 DOI:
10.3389/fpubh.2019.00207]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: To provide a baseline of various driving behaviors and to identify opportunities for prevention of distracted driving during the infancy of state laws that prohibited cellphone use while operating a motor vehicle, the 2010–2011 Distracted Driving Survey collected information on multiple distracted driving behaviors from lower-income clients of three designated, multi-purpose public health centers in Los Angeles County.
Methods: Descriptive and multivariable negative binomial regression analyses were performed to examine patterns of driving distractions using the Distracted Driving Survey dataset (n = 1,051).
Results: The most common distractions included talking to other passengers (n = 912, 86.8%); adjusting the radio, MP3, or cassette player (n = 873, 83.1%); and adjusting other car controls (n = 838, 79.7%). The median number of distinct distractions per survey participant was 11 (range: 0–32). Factors predicting the number of distinct distractions included being male [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.23], having a lower education (IRR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.84), and having more years of driving experience (IRR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.33, 2.11). A variety of distractions, including cellphone use and texting, were predictive of increased motor vehicle crashes in the prior 12 months (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Distracted driving beyond cellphone use and texting were common in the survey sample, suggesting a need for additional public education and more inclusive distracted driving laws that cover these other activity types.
Collapse