Putting the Brakes on Distracted Driving Philip S. Renaud, Executive Director, The Risk Institute

Distraction is Deadly 9% of all fatal crashes in 2016 in U.S. were due to distracted driving It’s even worse in Ohio, there’s been a 35% increase in distracted driving fatalities over the last 5 years Distracted driving crashes account for 18% of Ohio’s crash fatalities and 16% of Ohio’s serious crash injuries The risk of a DD crash in Columbus is 20% higher than any other type of crash Enough is enough

Hands Eyes Mind Distracted Driving is anything that takes your off of driving

The Risk Institute Approach The solution to end distracted driving won’t happen in courtrooms or laboratories.  That’s why the Risk Institute takes a four-tiered, cross-disciplinary approach.  Research. Urban Planning. Legislation. Technology.

Our most recent research examines driver behaviors and motivations as well as the impact of built environments on distracted driving.

How people are distracted

The ultimate reason people drive distracted is due to overconfidence in their own abilities

Why do people drive distracted? Most people won’t admit to driving distracted, however… People that drive distracted: Think many other people drive distracted Are overconfident in their DD ability Think distracted driving is NOT risky See more benefits to using phone and driving Are attached to their phones Are high in reactance to attempts to change them (only measured in Survey 2—predicts DD more than risk or gender) Are male (Survey 1 only) or younger (Survey 2 only) Have higher verbal intelligence Survey 2 Effect b se p How would you rate your ability to drive a car while using your cellphone for something important? 0.08 0.02 0 DD-prevalence other 0.23 0.03 0 BP-phone 3.59 0.5 0 attachment to cell 1.5 0.45 0.001 reactance (ave of 6) 1.43 0.51 0.005 SMap Mean distance from correct *-1 so higher value means better (closer to 0 is better more neagtive is worse) -0.03 0.01 0.009 Scored spatial questions 0.43 0.2 0.037 Scored vocab questions -0.31 0.09 0.001 What is your age? -0.16 0.04 0 Survey 1 Effect B Sig test Think others drive distracted more = more DD 0.38 t=11.42, p<.001 Higher risk perceptions (Weller scale) = less DD −4.06 t=−5.24, p<.001 Perceived benefits of using phone while driving = more DD 3.47 t=6.50, p<.001 More think better than others at DD = more DD 0.06 t=2.54, p=.011 More attachment to cell phone = more DD 2 t=3.88, p<.001 Men more likely to DD than women 3.57 t=3.17, p=.002 Higher verbal intelligence = less DD −.47 t=−4.81, p<.001 Starting model included (and removed): perceived risk in specific situations, risk inconsistencies (subset and time), perceived risks of using phone while driving, general driving ability overconfidence, accident overconfidence, attitudes towards driving, attitudes towards cell phone, rating of DD study, race (white vs. non), age, weekly hours driving, ONS, SNS, SMAP, spatial reasoning

Why do people drive distracted? Underestimation of distracted driving: people just don’t see it as risky Overconfidence in driving ability: people think risks apply to others, not them Affective reactions: see phones as beneficial; downplay risk Motivated denial: people don’t want to see risk; rationalize behavior Perceived norms: think others do it and/or it’s not a big deal Underestimation of distracted driving: people just don’t see it as risky (e.g., Weller et al., 2013) Overconfidence in driving ability: people think risks apply to others, not them (e.g., Tison, Chaudhary, & Cosgrove, 2011, our pilot study) Affective reactions: see phones as beneficial; downplay risk (e.g., Weller et al., 2013) Motivated denial: people don’t want to see risk (e.g., Nelson et al., 2009) Perceived norms: think others do it and/or it’s not a big deal (e.g., Chen, Donmez, et al., 2016)

The Impact of Built Environments A lot time, energy and money have been spent on tech advancement, legislation and research, but we’re also examining urban planning and the impact of built environments.

The Impact of Built Environments Our study revealed that built environments such as length of roadway, number of lanes, and urban roadways have a positive association of distracted driving crash frequency Meaning that distracted driving crashes are most likely on an eight-lane, interstate highway in an urban area.

The Impact of Built Environments DD crashes tend to be more severe than non-DD crashes — up to 49.4% more severe on an Interstate Highway A DD crash is 2.12x more likely to be fatal if it occurs in a work zone A DD crash is 5.4-10.4x more likely to be fatal rather than a severe injury if it’s a rear-to-end or angle (lane change, head-on collision)

Changes to Built Environments Roundabouts were found to be the single most effective road design in reducing the rate of crashes and crash severity. Over the time studied (2013-2017), no severe injury crashes or fatal crashes occurred at a roundabout

Changes to Built Environments Other effective changes are Medians Asphalt shoulders Better signage at and near workzones Roundabout first policy New Albany has a roundabout first policy – for any new intersection or changes to an intersection, a roundabout must first be considered before any other type of intersection can be introduced

So what do we do?

Take Action Reduce message resistance People see DD as a low-risk, with numerous benefits. They’re also most likely to be young males who don’t care much for reducing distraction and are most likely to resist changes. Develop and test more effective messaging Less is more; keep it simple Evoke emotion Present numeric risk information and visual aids Improve our built environments Roundabouts Medians Survey 2 Effect b se p How would you rate your ability to drive a car while using your cellphone for something important? 0.08 0.02 0 DD-prevalence other 0.23 0.03 0 BP-phone 3.59 0.5 0 attachment to cell 1.5 0.45 0.001 reactance (ave of 6) 1.43 0.51 0.005 SMap Mean distance from correct *-1 so higher value means better (closer to 0 is better more neagtive is worse) -0.03 0.01 0.009 Scored spatial questions 0.43 0.2 0.037 Scored vocab questions -0.31 0.09 0.001 What is your age? -0.16 0.04 0 Survey 1 Effect B Sig test Think others drive distracted more = more DD 0.38 t=11.42, p<.001 Higher risk perceptions (Weller scale) = less DD −4.06 t=−5.24, p<.001 Perceived benefits of using phone while driving = more DD 3.47 t=6.50, p<.001 More think better than others at DD = more DD 0.06 t=2.54, p=.011 More attachment to cell phone = more DD 2 t=3.88, p<.001 Men more likely to DD than women 3.57 t=3.17, p=.002 Higher verbal intelligence = less DD −.47 t=−4.81, p<.001 Starting model included (and removed): perceived risk in specific situations, risk inconsistencies (subset and time), perceived risks of using phone while driving, general driving ability overconfidence, accident overconfidence, attitudes towards driving, attitudes towards cell phone, rating of DD study, race (white vs. non), age, weekly hours driving, ONS, SNS, SMAP, spatial reasoning

Putting the Brakes on Distracted Driving Philip S. Renaud, Executive Director, The Risk Institute renaud.19@osu.edu 250 W. Woodruff Ave. Columbus, OH 43210 fisher.osu.edu/risk