Rethinking Cell Phone Use While Driving: Isolated Risk Behavior or a Pattern of Risk-Taking Associated with Impulsivity in Young Drivers?

Elizabeth A Walshe,Flaura K Winston,Dan Romer

doi:10.3390/ijerph18115640

Abstract

This study examines whether cell phone use stands apart from a general pattern of risky driving practices associated with crashes and impulsivity-related personality traits in young drivers. A retrospective online survey study recruited 384 young drivers from across the United States using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to complete a survey measuring risky driving practices (including cell phone use), history of crashes, and impulsivity-related personality traits. Almost half (44.5%) of the drivers reported being involved in at least one crash, and the majority engaged in cell phone use while driving (up to 73%). Factor analysis and structural equation modeling found that cell phone use loaded highly on a latent factor with other risky driving practices that were associated with prior crashes (b = 0.15, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.29]). There was also an indirect relationship between one form of impulsivity and crashes through risky driving (b = 0.127, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.30]). Additional analyses did not find an independent contribution to crashes for frequent cell phone use. These results suggest a pattern of risky driving practices associated with impulsivity in young drivers, indicating the benefit of exploring a more comprehensive safe driving strategy that includes the avoidance of cell phone use as well as other risky practices, particularly for young drivers with greater impulsive tendencies.

Highlights

Accepted: 21 May 2021In North America, both epidemiological and observational studies have shown that cell phone use while driving is associated with increased crash and near-crash risk [1,2].In 2018, distracted driver crashes accounted for 8% of fatal crashes on U.S roads, killing2841 people [3]
Drivers had more than two prior crashes
This study found that cell phone use while driving was only one indicator of a more general pattern of risky driving practices which is associated with prior crashes in young adult U.S drivers

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 21 May 2021In North America, both epidemiological and observational studies have shown that cell phone use while driving is associated with increased crash and near-crash risk [1,2].In 2018, distracted driver crashes accounted for 8% of fatal crashes on U.S roads, killing2841 people [3]. Compared to all other age groups, young adults aged 20–29 years are over-represented in cell phone-related fatal crashes [3]. 20 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have bans on hand-held phone conversations for all drivers, and 48 states have specific texting bans [4]. Evaluations of the effectiveness of these interventions show mixed results: some evidence reductions in cell phone use [5,6]—and perhaps more so for handheld calls than texting bans—but inconsistent evidence of reductions in motor vehicle crashes [7]. The success of these policies may have been limited by insufficient education and enforcement, an insurance claims analysis showed that cell phone bans were not effective in reducing crashes, even in areas with high-visibility enforcement [8]

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