Massachusetts Distracted Driving Study

Prepared for

March 2013

Presentation Overview Page

Section 1: About this Study 3

Section 2: Awareness of and Reaction to Safe Driving Legislation 5

Section 3: Current Distracted Driving Behaviors 8

Section 4: Perception of Dangers of Texting While Driving 12

Section 5: Executive Summary and Conclusions 16

Section 1:

About this Study

Background and Objectives

• Massachusetts recently passed Safe Driving Laws, banning all texting and web browsing from a mobile device. In addition, the law prevents all cell phone use for teens under the age of 18, including but not limited to calling, texting, and web browsing.

• 500 licensed drivers of all ages in Massachusetts were surveyed to find out their awareness of—and response to—the Safe Driving Law and other Safe Driving Legislation.

• Licensed drivers were also polled to find out about their Distracted Driving behaviors, and their perception of the dangers of Distracted Driving.

Section 2:

Awareness and Response to Safe Driving Legislation

Awareness of Proposed and Passed Legislation

Safe Driving Legislation Total

Sample Males Females Younger (17-44)

Older (45+)

Proposed increase in Chapter 90 aid for roadway rebuilds and repairs, boosting road money for cities and towns by 50% or $100 million per year.

20.5% 28.0% 14.0% 18.5% 22.2%

Massachusetts Driving Under the Influence Law that imposes stricter penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

37.4% 34.6% 40.0% 37.1% 36.4%

Proposed multi-modal highway program that would target high-crash intersections to improve safety.

11.8% 16.4% 7.6% 7.4% 15.0%

Of all the current and proposed Safe Driving Legislation tested, drivers were most aware of the recent Safe Driving Law. There were no significant differences in awareness between males and females; both are equally aware. Age also had no impact on awareness of the new laws. In the survey, “Younger” refers to drivers ages 17-44 and “Older” refers to drivers 45+.

Reaction to Massachusetts Safe Driving Law

The MA Safe Driving Law states that all texting and browsing the web is banned while driving a motor vehicle. Only 22% say they will abide completely by the law. A full 26% say that they will completely ignore the law, and another 52% say they will only follow the law while actually not in motion.

Choice Males Females Younger (17-44)

Older (45+)

Choice 1: I will stop using my mobile device while driving. 21.0% 22.8% 24.2% 20.2%

Choice 2: I will use my mobile device only when the car is not in motion.

46.9% 55.9% 50.2% 52.7%

Choice 3: No change - I will continue to use my mobile device while driving.

32.1% 21.3% 26.0% 27.1%

22%

52%

26%

Percentage of Drivers Who React in Following Ways

Choice 1

Choice 2

Choice 3

Section 3:

Frequency of Distracted Driving Behaviors

Frequency of Distracted Driving Behaviors

Choice Total Sample Males Females

Younger (17-44)

Older (45+)

Send a text message. 38.6% 32.5% 44.2% 58.2% 21.4% Speak on a mobile phone without using hands-free technology. 86.1% 83.5% 88.4% 92.56% 77.8%

Used a mobile device to browse the Internet. 22.1% 20.6% 23.4% 39.7% 6.87%

Nearly 4 in 10 say they send text messages while driving, with females appearing to text more than males, and younger drivers appearing to text twice as much as older drivers. Further, more than 9 in 10 say they speak on the phone without the use of a hands-free device. The least observed distracted driving behavior is browsing the internet, with just over 20% of the total sample engaging in this behavior. There is a significant tendency for younger drivers to use a mobile device to browse the internet than older drivers.

Nature of the Texts Sent While Driving

Choice Total Sample Males Females

Younger (17-44)

Older (45+)

Personal 56.1% 55.6% 56.5% 55.9% 57.4% Work 2.6% 1.2% 3.5% 0.0% 8.2% Both personal & work 36.9% 41.9% 33.5% 40.3% 31.1% Other 1.0% 1.3% 1.0% 0.0% 3.3% Refused 3.4% 0.0% 5.6% 5.2% 0.0%

Of those who send texts, almost all send texts of a personal, non-work-related nature, while less than half send work-related texts.

Nature of the Activities on the Mobile Web Browser Of those who used the mobile web browser, about 3 in 4 are using it for checking directions. It is among 85%

among older drivers. Notably, of the sample, none of the older drivers are using the mobile web browser for updating a Facebook status, updating Twitter, or checking a sports score. Females seemed to use Twitter much more than males, and males checked sports scores more than females.

Choice Males Females Younger (17-44)

Older (45+)

Updating your status on Facebook.

8.2% 7.6% 9.8% 0.0%

Updating Twitter 3.5% 16.0% 13.0% 0.0% Checking a sports score. 10.2% 3.6% 7.6% 0.0% Checking directions. 87.1% 69.7% 76.0% 85.0% Other 12.9% 28.9% 23.9% 15.0%

Section 4:

Perception of Dangers of Texting

Perception of Dangers of Texting Compared to Other Driving Behaviors There is an unspoken suggestion that MA drivers are not fully cognizant of the dangers of texting while

driving. For example, the results below show that drivers believe texting is no more, and even less dangerous than talking with other passengers, or changing the radio station.

Behavior of Drivers With Passengers or Children

• Results suggest an underlying realization of risk to passengers as drivers will text only while they are alone in their cars.

• Of the total sample of drivers with kids under the age of 13, 96% are unlikely to text and drive with children in the car. There is no distinction between males and females, and younger or older.

• 94% of the total sample are unlikely to text and drive with any other passenger in the car.

• 67% of the total sample, when a passenger, has never asked the driver to stop texting. Fewer males and more older drivers have asked the driver than females and younger drivers, respectively.

96.0 94.0

WITH CHILD UNDER 13 WITH ANY PASSENGER

Percentage of Drivers Who Won’t Send Texts When Accompanied by

Passengers

With Child Under 13 With Any Passenger

Drivers who Regulated A Mobile Device

• 94.6% of the total sample has never attempted to regulate cell phone use on a child’s device.

• 87.8% of the total sample has never attempted to regulate cell phone use on their devices.

94.687.8

Percentage of Drivers Who Have Not Regulated

A Mobile Device

On a Child's Phone On Their Own Phone

Section 5:

Executive Summary

Executive Summary and Key Findings

• While most Massachusetts drivers are aware of the new Safe Driving Law, relatively few say that they will completely abide by it.

• The most prevalent Distracted Driving behavior by far is texting. • Of concern is the fact that most drivers believe that texting is no more

dangerous than common driving activities such as talking with other passengers or changing the radio station.

• There is additional cause for concern since younger drivers engage in texting and web browsing significantly more than older drivers while driving.