2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Online Program

324546
Investigating Distracted Driving Among Undergraduate Students in New Jersey


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Sonia Lee, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Derek Shendell, DEnv, MPH, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers SPH (and, EOHSI), Piscataway, NJ
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Despite only constituting a fraction of American drivers, younger drivers account for a disproportionate amount of motor/vehicle traffic crashes resulting in injuries or deaths. It is thought that youthful inexperience and risky behaviors are among the primary reasons behind these numbers, especially the performance of a secondary task. 

     A U.S. Government Accounting Office report released in May 2010 stated how, currently,  limited peer-reviewed research existed on various aspects of graduated drivers license (GDL) systems, including optimal times of day to allow or to limit driving among adolescents (teenagers and young adults still in secondary school) and the effect of bans on using electronic hand-held and hand-operated devices. Technology advancements are thought to be a contributor to the problem of young adults comprising the largest proportion of distracted drivers. Indeed, a paper in Pediatrics (Ginsberg et al, 2008, 121(5):1391-1403) suggested surveyed teenagers ranked text-messaging, inexperience, and cell phone use as three major identified hazards while driving.

     The purpose of this project is to help fill the data gap by obtaining information from an anonymous online survey among undergraduate students at Rutgers University, ages 18-25, on their knowledge of, awareness of, and attitudes regarding distracted driving. Approximately 30,000 undergraduates will be emailed the link for the online survey (Psychdata, State College, PA), and preliminary descriptive results will be available in April-May 2015. Questions cover a variety of distracting behaviors and situational conditions to evaluate the prevalence of specific behaviors and better understand the viewpoints of young adults about safety on the roads

Learning Areas:

Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Explain why distracted driving is a public health concern. Discuss the prevalence of specific behaviors and better understand the viewpoints of young adults about safety and risk on the road. Identify the behaviors that potentially pose major driving hazards.

Keyword(s): Adolescents, Community-Based Research (CBPR)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a public health student at Rutgers University, with a concentration in Public Health Administration. This year, I've been a Research Assistant with the Rutgers Aresty Program, which is competitive and accepts about 24% of applicants for available positions. My family's personal experiences with the effects of distracted driving inspired me to get involved with research that focuses on driving behaviors specifically in the undergraduate student population.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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