title: The impact of in-vehicle cell-phone use on accidents or near-accidents among college students.
abstract: With in-vehicle use of cell phones rapidly increasing, the safety of young drivers, who represent 14% of licensed drivers but 26% of drivers involved in fatal crashes, may be disproportionately threatened. The authors used a questionnaire to examine the association between in-vehicle cell-phone use and accidents or near-accidents among 1,291 conveniently recruited college students in 4 states. Of the 1,185 respondents who were drivers, 87% had a cell phone, and 86% of the cell-phone owners reported talking while driving at least occasionally. Of the 762 reported accidents or near-accidents, 21% (n = 159) involved at least 1 of the drivers talking while driving. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses showed that the frequency, not the duration, of drivers talking while driving was related to experiencing accidents or near-accidents. Differences between drivers who used cell phones and nonusers in unsafe driving behaviors and attitudes were also examined, and target groups for intervention efforts against talking on a cell phone while driving are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA. sdongchu@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Dong-Chul
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Mohammad R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Torabi
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities