National Efforts to Reduce

Distracted Driving

Maria E. Vegega U.S. Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Safe Kids Worldwide Childhood Injury Prevention Conference

June 21, 2013

NHTSA is the lead federal agency responsible for motor vehicle and traffic safety in the U.S.

President

Secretary of

Transportation

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•Truck & bus compliance•CDL qualifications

Background & Problem Identification

NHTSA’s Distracted Driving Program Plan

Guidelines and Legislation

Enforcement Approaches

Federal Efforts to Reduce Distracted Driving: Overview

What is Distracted Driving & How Big of A

Problem Is It?

Distracted driving occurs when drivers divert attention from the driving task to focus on some other

activity

Distractions are categorized into 3 types:

Tasks that require the driver to look away from the roadway

Tasks that require the driver to take a hand off the steering wheel and manipulate a device

Task that involves thinking about something other than the driving task (mental workload)

3,331 people died (10% of fatal crashes) and an estimated 387,000 people were injured (17% of injury crashes) in crashes involving a distracted driver (2011 U.S. data)

The 15-19 year old age group had the largest proportion of drivers distracted at the time of the fatal crash.

While these numbers are significant, they may not state the true size of the problem, given the complexity of documentation

Crashes Involving a Distracted Driver

According to NHTSA’s 2011 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS):

5% of drivers were observed holding a cell phone to their ear

Higher among 16-24 year old drivers (7 %) and female drivers (6%)

1.3% of drivers were observed visibly manipulating (texting) a hand-held devices

Higher among 16-24 year old drivers (3.7%) and female drivers

2011 Observed Cell Phone Use

Almost half of drivers (49%) answers a call while driving Similar for 16-20 year old drivers

Almost 1 in 4 (23%) drivers place calls while driving Similar for 16-20 year old drivers (22%)

14% of drivers admit to sending texts/email while driving 71% of 16-20 year olds confirm sending texts/email while

driving

2012 National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and

Behaviors

What People Told Us

More drivers recognize the risk however, drivers of all ages use their phones while they are driving at least sometimes

“It’s the other driver’s fault” – As passengers, almost all motorist considered a driver who was texting as very unsafe

Most drivers support bans on hand-held cell phone use (74%) and texting while driving (94%), and they approve fines of $200 or higher for talking on cell phones or texting while driving

What is NHTSA Doing to Address Distracted Driving?

In April 2010 NHTSA released a comprehensive driver distraction plan

This plan communicates NHTSA’s priorities and four major initiatives to meet driver distraction safety challenges

Driver Distraction Program Plan

Since 2009, the U.S. DOT has launched a variety of campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving:

Awareness

Federal Efforts:

Examples of Partnerships

AAA Ad Council Allstate Insurance Better Business Bureau (BBB) Consumer Reports ESPN Governor’s Highway Safety Association National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS) Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) Oprah Winfrey “No Phone Zone” Seventeen Magazine State Farm Insurance

Guidelines and Legislation

Regulations and Guidelines

Executive Order “Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving”

Sample State Law to Prohibit Texting While Driving

Hand-Held Bans for: Commercial Truck and Bus Drivers Motor Vehicle Operators Carrying Hazardous Materials Railroad Operators

Limiting Distractions for Pilots in the Cockpit

Visual Manual Driver Distraction Guidelines for in-Vehicle Electronic Devices

Visual Manual Driver Distraction Guidelines for in-Vehicle Electronic Devices In April 2013, NHTSA released voluntary distraction

guidelines that encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk connected to electronic devices built into their vehicles.

The guidelines include recommendations to limit the time a driver must take his eyes off the road to perform any task to 2 seconds at a time and 12 seconds total.

Recommend disabling several operations unless the vehicle is stopped and in park mode.

On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law P.L. 112-141, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)

MAP-21 funds surface transportation programs for fiscal years (FY) 2013 and 2014

MAP-21 makes available approximately $17.5 million in FY 2013 for states that have enacted and are enforcing anti-distracted driving laws

To qualify, a state must have primary laws prohibiting drivers from texting while driving and youths from using cell phones while driving

Federal Authorization

State Distracted Driving Laws

Hand-held Phone Use:11 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving

Text Messaging:41 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers (all but 4 have primary enforcement)

An additional 6 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers

3 states restrict school bus drivers from texting.

All Driver Hand-held Phone Bans

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

All Driver Texting Bans

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

Enforcement

High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) Campaigns

In April, 2009 NHTSA launched two pilot programs in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York to assess whether increased law enforcement combined with media and news announcements over a defined period of time could get distracted drivers to put down their cell phones and focus on the road.

These pilot programs were similar to previous efforts to curb drunk driving and increase seat belt use among drivers.

Results show that drivers will change their habits on cell phone use when faced with strong laws, tough enforcement, and public education.

Distracted Driving Demo Final Results (Hartford, CT)

Observed Hand-held Phone Use

The percentage of drivers observed holding their phones to their ears decreased from baseline to the end of the fourth wave.

The reduction was significantly greater in Hartford (from 6.8% to 2.9%) than the control site (from 6.6% to 5.6%).

These changes represent a 57% drop in observed cell phone use for the Hartford site compared to a 15% drop at the control site.

Distracted Driving Demo Final Results (Syracuse, NY)

Fewer drivers in Syracuse were observed holding cell phones to their ears at the end of the fourth wave (from 3.7% to 2.5%). This 32% decrease was statistically significant.

In the control site, there was also a significant 40% reduction in observed hand-held cell phone use from 5.0% to 3.0%.

Observed Hand-held Phone Use

HVE Campaigns

In summer 2012, California and Delaware received federal support to test the effect of HVE on distracted driving over a larger area.

The California program takes place in the Sacramento valley region comprising eight counties and 3.9 million residents, while the Delaware program is being conducted statewide.

NHTSA is undertaking research with Massachusetts and Connecticut to develop and refine effective texting enforcement strategies.

What You Can Do?

Lead by example! Turn off your electronic devices and put them out of

reach before you start to drive Speak up when you’re a passenger and your driver uses

an electronic device while driving Always wear your seat belt – seat belts are your best

defense against other unsafe drivers

Educate others on the dangers of distracted driving

Support the enactment of strong laws and policies banning texting and hand-held phone use to let drivers know distracted driving is a serious safety threat

Work with partners such as advocacy groups, health organizations, youth groups, schools, traffic safety agencies and law enforcement agencies.

Visit Distraction.gov for comprehensive information about distracted driving!

Thank you