Study Finds Fewer Teens Texting While Driving

Evidently the message is finally getting through that texting while driving is a Really Bad Idea.

A newly published study led by Dr. Sean Tucker of the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan, Canada, involving drivers aged 1619 years primarily in the province of Ontario finds a decline in frequency of texting and driving among members of this demographic.

The good news is that we found a significant drop in the percentage of youth who reported sometimes to almost always texting and driving, from 27% in 2012 to 6% in 2014, says Dr. Tucker, who is also the study’s lead author

“We also examined teenagers risk-taking behaviours while driving including texting, speeding and talking on a phone,” Dr. Tucker notes. “Unfortunately we found that while texting and driving occurred less frequently than speeding or talking on the phone, these behaviours were closely associated with each other. In other words, those who texted and drove were also more likely to speed or talk on the phone while driving.”

While males were more likely to text and drive than females there was no difference in the rate of males and females who talked on a phone while driving.

As part of the study, Dr. Tucker and co-author Simon Pek of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, analyzed peoples reasons for reducing their frequency of texting and driving. “Some of the reasons why drivers didn’t text and drive included the perceived danger, laws and fines for texting and driving, and experiencing close calls and accidents by other drivers,” says Dr. Tucker.

The study entitled “The Prevalence of texting while driving and other risky driving behaviours of young people in Ontario, Canada: Evidence from 2012 and 2014” , is published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, November 2015, and is based on surveys of 6,133 youth in 2012 and 4,450 youth in 2014 conducted by Dr. Tucker, Simon Pek, Jayne Morris of Parachute Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping Canadians safe at home, on the road, at work, and at play with a focus is on motor vehicle collisions, sports and recreation, and seniors falls, and Megan Ruf of the University of Regina, with the support of Parachute Canada, This years National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 19 25 recognizes that teen driver safety is a huge issue in Canada. Young people only make up 13 percent of licensed drivers, but account for approximately one quarter of all road-related injuries and fatalities

Sixteen year olds reported more frequent texting while driving than older participants and males again reported more frequent texting while driving in te second study. However there was no difference in the rate of talking on the phone while driving among males and females. Participants also reported on experiences that led to a significant reduction in their texting while driving, with the most common reasons cited being perceived danger of texting while driving, laws and fines against texting while driving, and observing close-calls and accidents experienced by other people, and results of both studies suggest that driving-related risk-taking behaviors co-occur. Finally, there was a substantial decline in the prevalence of texting while driving across the studies. In Study 1, 27 percent of participants reported sometimes to almost always texting while driving compared to 6 percent of participants in Study 2.

According to the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police a driver using a mobile device is four times more likely to be in a crash than a driver who is focused on driving, and the Canadian Automobile Association reports driver distraction is a factor in 4 million vehicle crashes each year. The study co-authors hope that growing societal awareness, more focused government interventions, and continuing research on the problem will help reduce the incidence of risky driving behaviours and their associated consequences.

Sources:
University of Regina
Accident Analysis and Prevention
Parachute Canada