Cell phone use while driving has been estimated to cause 333,000 crashes each year, resulting in 2,600 deaths and $43 billion in societal costs. An increasing number of states have implemented cell phone laws banning hand-held phone use and texting while driving, but it remains unclear whether these laws reduce calling, texting, or crashes among young drivers. The Objective of this application is to determine across multiple states the impact of cell phone laws and their enforcement on calling and texting while driving, and on rates of injurious and fatal traffic crashes among drivers under age 25. Its Central hypothesis is that, the effectiveness of cell phone laws is impacted by certain provisions of the law, and that most laws have little or no impact unless they include a high degree of enforcement. It will pursue the following specific aims: 1) Determine which provisions of hand-held cell phone bans and which level of enforcement actually reduce roadside-observed calling while driving among drivers under age 25;2) Identify which provisions of texting bans and which level of enforcement reduce self-reported texting or emailing while driving among high school students;and 3) Determine which provisions of hand-held cell phone bans and texting bans, and which level of enforcement reduce traffic crash rates among drivers under age 25. The following legislative provisions will be examined: mode of enforcement (primary enforcement-officers can stop a vehicle for cell phone use only;or secondary enforcement-driver must first be cited for another infraction), total cell phone ban for drivers

Public Health Relevance

Healthy People 2020 has identified motor vehicle crashes as an important public health issue for adolescents (age: 10-19) and young adults (20-24), and cell-phone-related distracted driving is being recognized as an emerging hazard in traffic safety, particularly among young drivers whose cell phone use and crash rate are high. The proposed research will identify the effective and ineffective provisions of cell phone laws in reducing drivr hand-held phone use, texting, and the subsequent crashes, injuries and deaths. It will delineate an optimal law for states to enact new, or enhance existing legislation, and define the level of enforcement needed to achieve actual reductions in driver cell phone use and traffic crashes involving adolescents and young adults;and, will provide much-needed scientific evidence for informing important policy decisions relevant to transportation safety and protection of the traveling public.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD074594-02
Application #
8601897
Study Section
Community Influences on Health Behavior (CIHB)
Program Officer
Haverkos, Lynne
Project Start
2013-01-01
Project End
2015-12-31
Budget Start
2014-01-01
Budget End
2014-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$164,136
Indirect Cost
$33,411
Name
West Virginia University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
191510239
City
Morgantown
State
WV
Country
United States
Zip Code
26506
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Rudisill, Toni M; Zhu, Motao (2017) Hand-held cell phone use while driving legislation and observed driver behavior among population sub-groups in the United States. BMC Public Health 17:437
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Rudisill, Toni M; Zhu, Motao (2016) Who actually receives cell phone use while driving citations and how much are these laws enforced among states? A descriptive, cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 6:e011381
Erhardt, Taryn; Rice, Thomas; Troszak, Lara et al. (2016) Motorcycle helmet type and the risk of head injury and neck injury during motorcycle collisions in California. Accid Anal Prev 86:23-8
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Rudisill, Toni M; Zhu, Motao; Kelley, George A et al. (2016) Medication use and the risk of motor vehicle collisions among licensed drivers: A systematic review. Accid Anal Prev 96:255-270
Birru, Hellina; Rudisill, Toni M; Fabio, Anthony et al. (2016) A comparison of self-reported seat belt usage among the Appalachian and non-Appalachian United States. Ann Epidemiol 26:227-30
Zhu, Motao; Cummings, Peter; Zhao, Songzhu et al. (2016) The association between graduated driver licensing laws and travel behaviors among adolescents: an analysis of US National Household Travel Surveys. BMC Public Health 16:647

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