TRB Pubsindex
Text Size:
x

« Prev Next »

Return to Results | New Search

Bookmark and Share

Title:

Improved Identification of Distraction-Related Crashes and the Impact of Distraction-Free Driving Laws

Accession Number:

01592859

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

Distracted driving is a dangerous activity that continues to claim lives on the Nation’s roadways. This research used police-reported crash data to analyze of distraction-related crashes before and after passage the Safe Driving law in Massachusetts. An initial task completed within this research was an evaluation of the process by which distraction crashes are identified. Using a crash report narrative key word search, an estimate of the amount of distraction crashes that are mischaracterized was established. Additionally, the key word search was used to validate the accuracy of distraction-related crashes reported via the driver contributing code field on the crash report form. Using the crash data, statistics for a period of two years before and after the implementation of the Massachusetts Safe Driving Law, a statewide ban on texting while driving, were compared. The research results provide valuable information for safety practitioners in targeting specific segments of the population that are likely to be engaged in distraction-related activities while driving. The use of GIS was also incorporated to provide a spatial representation to the various distraction-related crash percentages and equivalent property damage only (EPDO) results. The results from this research indicate that distracted driving remains a prominent and primary cause for crashes even after the passage of a texting ban; however the inability to control for several key factors, such as VMT by age and phone subscribers, limit some of the direct conclusions that can be drawn. The results do, however provide a solid baseline for subsequent analyses moving forward.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB20 Standing Committee on Safety Data, Analysis and Evaluation.

Monograph Accession #:

01584066

Report/Paper Numbers:

16-5534

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Dube, Christina M
Fitzpatrick, Cole D
Gazzillo, Jennifer R
Knodler, Michael A

Pagination:

16p

Publication Date:

2016

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Web

Features:

Maps; References (10) ; Tables

Geographic Terms:

Massachusetts

Subject Areas:

Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-5534

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 12 2016 6:24PM