Distracted Driving Among Trauma Patients Attending Fracture Clinics in Canada:The Canadian Multi-Centre Drivsafe Study

Abstract

Background: Globally, every 25 seconds, a person dies in a road traffic incident and 58 people get injured. Unfortunately, distracted driving rates are rising. Compounding this is the growth of the number of cars in global circulation, estimated at 1.32 billion. This study examined the prevalence of distracted driving among orthopaedic fracture clinic patients, as well as associated factors. Method: In this large, multi-centre cross-sectional study, we recruited 1378 patients across four Canadian fracture clinics. Eligible patients completed an anonymous questionnaire about distracted driving. We calculated the prevalence of distracted driving and performed regression analyses to determine the association of demographics and distracting behaviours on crash risk. Findings: In total, 1358 (99.8%) patients self-reported distracted driving. Prevalent distractions included talking to passengers (98.7%), outer-vehicle distractions (95.5%), listening/adjusting radio (97.6%/93.8%), and daydreaming (61.2%). Of 1354 patients who acknowledged mobile phone distractions, 889 accepted phone calls and continued driving (65.6%), 675 (49.8%) read and 475 (35.1%) sent electronic messages. Of 113 drivers who sustained their injuries in a motor vehicle crash (MVC), 20 (17.7%) acknowledged being distracted. Out of 729 patients who reported being the driver in a previous MVC in their lifetime, 226 (31.1%) confirmed being distracted at the time. Interpretation: Driving distractions during a lifetime were near universally acknowledged. In MVCs, one in six patients reported being distracted in their current crash, and one in three patients disclosed being distracted in an MVC during their lifetime. Funding Information: Canadian Orthopaedic Research Legacy Grant, Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation, Regional Medical Associates. Declaration of Interests: None. Ethics Approval Statement: The methods centre received approval from the McMaster/Hamilton Health Sciences research ethics board (reference REB #15-334), and each local research ethics board.