Understanding the Psychological Factors Underlying Smartphone Related Distracted Driving: Exploratory Analysis Using a Nationwide Survey
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2018-04-02
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TRIS Online Accession Number:01701609
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Edition:Year 25 Final Report
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Abstract:As smartphone technology begins to reach sizeable levels of market saturation and as its usage becomes ubiquitous, distracted driving, and more specifically smartphone related distraction will experience substantial growth. In the United States, where smartphone ownership is around 77% for adults, cell phone related distracted driving has long been a noted issue. However, the expanded capabilities and ever-growing market of applications offered by smartphones opens the door for additional avenues of distraction. In response to this, law makers have attempted to address distraction through the implementation of various levels of mobile phone bans or restrictions. Existing research points to the mixed evidence regarding the influence of these laws on restricting use behaviors and limiting distraction related crashes. In an effort to better characterize and understand distracted driving behavior, this research explores emailing and social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc,) usage behaviors while driving. The exploration into the behaviors is coupled with investigation into the psychological factors that underlie them, while also controlling for potential heterogeneity across individuals (e.g. socio-economic and demographic factors). Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as the foundation, a nationwide survey was carried out to measure email and social network usage behaviors and the individuals’ attitudes towards them. The survey was implemented in Qualtrics and participants were recruited from the pool of adults in the United States on the Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. Complete responses were collected from 550 individuals. In addition to a comprehensive descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis and subsequently regression analysis were performed to understand the underlying psychological factors and their influence on the usage behaviors. Results indicate that about 47% (259 respondents) at least occasionally email or access social networks while driving and 12.9% (71 respondents) indicate that they perform a target behavior for at least half of their trips. Additionally, respondents positive attitudes, attitudes toward perceived benefits (temporal, workplace, and social), and attitudes about the behaviors’ lack of influence on their driving ability showed positive influence on their frequency to partake in distracted driving events. This work further contributes to the literature on distracted driving, in particular associated with email and social network usage behaviors. Furthermore, the underlying attitudes toward these behaviors can help inform decision-makers design effective policies to curb distracted driving behaviors.
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