KATIE WOMACKCenter for Transportation Safety Texas A&M Transportation InstituteMay 30, 2019

Evaluating Distracted Driving – Challenges and Opportunities

PresentationOverview

Definitions – what do we measure?

Methods – how do we measure?

Current evaluations – where are we now?

Opportunities – what does success look like?

Operational Definitions

Terms: Visual

Manual Cognitive

Frequency Affects & Effects

Effective-ness

Methodologies

Experiments/Quasi-experiments

Prevalence or technology adoption

Incidence and consequence

Observational surveys

Self-report surveys

Policy/law reviews

Current Evaluations

Human Factors Studies

• Simulator studies

• Naturalistic driving studies

• Technology development

Current Evaluations

Incidence and Consequence3 sources of Data

• Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

• National Automotive Sampling Systems (NASS)

• National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS)

Current Evaluations

Behavioral Research

• Measures of wireless communication device use

Texas examples National examples

Observational Surveys

National

State

Local

Current Evaluations

Attitudinal Research

• Awareness and perceptions, opinions, self-reported use

Texas examples National examples

2013 82%

2019 90%

Support Texting Ban in Texas

Changes over time:

2017 86%

Texans’ Attitudes

2015 87%

2013 88%(Texas = 82%)

2019 ??%(Texas = 90%)

Support Texting Ban in Texas

Changes over time:

2017 88%(Texas = 86%)

National Attitudes

2015 88%(Texas = 87%)

Current Evaluations

Measures of Legislative Impacts

• Types of laws by state

• Measures of change

• Comparative studies

Opportunities

Obvious need for all types of evaluation nationwide

Opportunities

Obvious need for all types of evaluation in Texas

Human factorsCrashesBehavioralAttitudinalLegislative impacts

Success Picture

Current picture in TexasLegislative progressShifts in mobile communication device useImprovements in data reporting

TargetsTexas Highway Safety PlanReduction of fatalities and serious injuries related to distracted driving

Discussion or Questions

KATIE WOMACKTTI Senior Research ScientistBehavioral Research

(979) 845-5153

kwomack@tamu.edu