Traffic Safety Facts: Distracted Driving 2009

NHTSA · 2010 · ROSA P / National Center for Statistics and Analysis (U.S.)

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Summary

This NHTSA research note analyzes distracted driving statistics for 2009, utilizing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) General Estimates System (GES). The study addresses the prevalence of driver distraction in motor vehicle crashes, defining distraction as a specific type of inattention where drivers divert focus from driving to other activities. The report highlights a methodological revision in NHTSA’s classification of distraction, which excluded emotional states and "looked, but did not see" incidents, resulting in lower reported counts compared to previous years. The methodology relies on FARS, a census of all fatal crashes, and GES, a nationally representative sample of police-reported crashes of all severities. The analysis covers fatal crashes, injury crashes, and property-damage-only crashes from 2005 to 2009. Data limitations are acknowledged, including potential underreporting due to driver self-reporting biases, inconsistent police accident report formats across jurisdictions, and reliance on post-crash investigations. In 2009, 5,474 fatalities and an estimated 448,000 injuries occurred in crashes involving distracted driving. Distraction was reported in 16% of fatal crashes and 20% of injury crashes. The proportion of fatal crashes involving distraction increased from 10% in 2005 to 16% in 2009. Cell phones were identified as a distraction in 18% of fatal distraction-related crashes, resulting in 995 deaths, and in 5% of injury distraction-related crashes, resulting in 24,000 injuries. Demographic analysis revealed that drivers under 20 had the highest proportion of distraction in fatal crashes (16%), while drivers aged 30–39 had the highest proportion of cell phone involvement among distracted drivers (24%). Light-truck drivers and motorcyclists also showed high distraction rates (12% each). Conversely, the estimated number of injuries in distraction-related crashes decreased by 26% from 2005 to 2009. The findings underscore the significant role of distraction in traffic safety, particularly among younger drivers and in fatal crashes. The increase in the percentage of fatal crashes involving distraction over the five-year period suggests a growing prevalence of this risk factor. However, the data is subject to inherent limitations regarding reporting consistency and underreporting. The study provides a baseline for understanding distraction trends while highlighting the need for improved data collection methods to accurately capture the scope of distracted driving, especially as technology evolves.

Key finding

In 2009, 5,474 people were killed and 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving, with cell phones reported as a distraction in 18% of fatal distraction-related crashes.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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• visual
• incidence prevalence
• mobile phones
• external distraction

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes