Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 95, May 18, 2010, Pages 27631-27922 Page: 27,676
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Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 95/Tuesday, May 18, 2010/Proposed Rules
instrumented vehicles-to provide
details on driver performance, behavior,
environment, and other factors
associated with critical incidents, near-
crashes, and crashes for 100 cars over a
one-year period.3 This exploratory study
was conducted to determine the
feasibility of a larger-scale study that
would be more representative of the
nation's driving behavior. Despite the
small scale of the 100-Car study,
extensive information was obtained on
241 primary and secondary drivers over
a 12- to 13-month period occurring
between January, 2003, and July, 2004.
The data covered approximately 2
million vehicle miles driven and 43,000
hours of driving. As stated in An
Overview of the 100-Car Naturalistic
Study and Findings, "the goal of this
study was to maximize the potential to
record crash or near crash events
through the selection of subjects with
higher than average crash or near crash
risk exposure."4 In order to achieve this
goal, the 100-car study selected a larger
sample of drivers who were 18-25 years
of age and who drove more than
average.
Additionally, the subjects were
selected from the Northern Virginia/
Washington, DC metropolitan area
which offers primarily urban and
suburban driving conditions, often in
moderate to heavy traffic. This type of
purposive sample served well the
intentions of the study; however, it also
created limitations on the application of
the findings. The findings of the 100-car
study cannot be generalized to represent
the behavior of the nation's population
or the potential causal factors for the
crashes that occur across the nation's
roadways.
During the 100-car study, complete
information was collected on 69
crashes, 761 near-crashes, and 8,295
incidents. The encompassing term
inattention was classified during this
study as (1) Secondary task
involvement, (2) fatigue, (3) driving-
related inattention to the forward
roadway, and (4) non-specific eye
glance away from the forward roadway.
Secondary task involvement is defined
for the study as driver behavior that
3 Dingus, T.A. et al. (2006). "The 100-Car
Naturalistic Driving Study, Phase II-Results of the
100-Car Field Experiment." DOT HS 810-593.
Available online at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/
Crash %20Avoidance/Driver% 20Distraction/
lOOCarMain.pdf. Neale et al. (2005). "An Overview
of the 100-Car Naturalistic Study and Findings."
NHTSA Paper Number 05-0400. Available online
at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/
NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crash %20
Avoidance/Driver% 20Distraction/100CarESVO5summary.pdf.
4 Neale et al., supra note 3.diverts the driver's attention away from
the driving task; this may include
talking on a cell phone, eating, talking
to a passenger, and other distracting
tasks. Results of the 100-car study
indicate that secondary task distraction
contributed to over 22 percent of all the
crashes and near-crashes recorded
during the study period.5 This study
found that when a secondary task took
the driver's eyes off of the road for more
than 2.0 seconds (out of a 6.0-second
time interval), the odds of a crash or
near-crash event occurring significantly
increased.
3. National Occupant Protection Use
Survey (NOPUS)
NHTSA's annual survey of occupant
protection also collects data on
electronic device use. NOPUS provides
the only probability-based observed data
on driver electronic device use in the
United States.6 Based on the sampling
method of the survey, findings are
representative of the nation as a whole.
In 2008, it was estimated that about 6
percent of all drivers were using hand-
held cell phones while driving during
daylight hours. This finding means that
about 812,000 vehicles on the road at
any given daylight moment were being
driven by someone using a hand-held
cell phone in 2008. Survey data from
the previous year yielded an even
higher figure: according to NOPUS, in
2007 about 1,005,000 vehicles were
being driven by someone using a hand-
held cell phone at any given daylight
moment.7 Another finding was that in
both 2007 and 2008 an estimated 11
percent of vehicles in a typical daylight
moment were driven by someone who
was using some type of electronic
device, either hand-held or hands-free.8
4. Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety
Survey (MVOSS)
The MVOSS is a periodic national
telephone survey on occupant
protection issues. The most recent
administration of the survey was in
2007. Volume 4, Crash Injury and
Emergency Medical Services Report,
5 Klauer et al. (2006). "The Impact of Driver
Inattention on Near-Crash/Crash Risk: An Analysis
Using the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Data."
DOT HS 810 594. Available online at: http://www.
nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/
Multimedia/PDFs/Crash %20Avoidance/Driver %20
Distraction/810594.pdf.
6 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(2009). "Driver Electronic Device Use in 2008." DOT
HS 811 184. Available online: http://www-
nrd.nhtsa. dot.gov/Pubs/811184.PDF.
7 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(2008). "Driver Electronic Device Use in 2007." DOT
HS 810 963. Available online at: http://www-
nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810963.PDF.8 NHTSA (2008) supra note 7 and NHTSA (2009)
supra note 6.includes discussion of questions
pertaining to wireless phone use in the
vehicle.9 According to the report
summarizing the 2007 data, 81 percent
of drivers age 16 and older usually have
a wireless phone in the vehicle with
them when they drive. Drivers over the
age of 54 were less likely than younger
drivers to have them-87 percent of 16-
to 54-year olds, 74 percent of 55- to 64-
year-olds, and 63 percent of drivers age
65 and older. Of those drivers who
usually have a wireless phone in the
vehicle, 85 percent said they keep the
phone on during all or most of their
trips. Among drivers who keep the
phone turned on when they drive, 64
percent always or usually answer
incoming phone calls.
Of the drivers who usually have a
wireless phone in the vehicle with them
when they drive, 16 percent said they
talk while driving during most or all of
their trips, and 17 percent said they talk
on their wireless phone during about
half of their trips. On the other hand, 22
percent of individuals reported never
talking on their phone while driving.
When driving and wanting to dial the
phone, 32 percent of those who at least
occasionally talk on the phone while
driving tend to dial the phone while
driving the vehicle. An additional 37
percent tend to wait until they are
temporarily stopped, and 19 percent
tend to pull over to a stop to place the
call. Ten percent stated they never dial
while driving.
F. Other Efforts
1. State Action
Rhode Island recently enacted a ban
on text messaging, becoming the 19th
State (in addition to the District of
Columbia and Guam) to prohibit all
drivers from using a text messaging
device to write or send a text message
while operating a motor vehicle in
motion or in the travel portion of a
roadway. The law, effective November
10, 2009, makes the activity a primary
enforcement crime with the potential of
a civil penalty to be imposed and a fine
if convicted.
2. Federal Action
On October 1, 2009, during DOT's
Distracted Driving Summit, the
President issued Executive Order 13513
on "Federal Leadership on Reducing
Text Messaging While Driving." Among
9 Boyle, J. M and C. Lampkin (2008). "2007 Motor
Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey Volume 4: Crash
Injury and Emergency Medical Services Report."
DOT HS 810 977. See report summary dated March
2009 online at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/
DOT/NHTSA/Communication %20&%20Consumer% 20Information/Traffic %20Tech %20
Publications/Associated%20Files/tt371.pdf27676
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United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 95, May 18, 2010, Pages 27631-27922, periodical, May 18, 2010; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc52676/m1/54/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.