North Dakota Statewide Traffic Safety Survey, 2011 : Issue Brief, Summer 2011
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Summary
This issue brief presents findings from the 2011 North Dakota Statewide Traffic Safety Survey, conducted to address the United States’ lagging performance in roadway safety compared to other industrial nations. Motivated by a national initiative from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to quantify behavior-based safety metrics, the study aimed to elucidate traffic safety priorities and progress. The survey focused on ten core safety issues, including seat belt use, alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, and distracted driving, alongside specific questions regarding education, policy, and enforcement designated by the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT). The methodology involved a mail survey distributed to drivers based on state registration records, yielding 1,433 valid responses. The sample was stratified by region (east/west) and geography (rural/urban) using county boundaries. To capture high-risk behaviors, the study oversampled a target group of male drivers aged 18 to 34. This design allowed for comparative analysis between general drivers and this high-risk demographic, as well as between rural and urban populations. Key findings reveal significant safety concerns across multiple categories. Among drivers who consume alcohol, 40.9% reported driving within two hours of drinking in the past two months, with 7.9% doing so on at least four occasions. Speeding was prevalent, particularly in 30 mph zones, where only 15.2% of drivers reported never speeding, compared to 20.5% in 65 mph zones. Motorcyclist safety was also highlighted, with 41.3% wearing helmets and 13.9% wearing no protective gear. Rural residents drove more miles annually and were significantly less likely to wear seat belts than urban residents. Regarding distracted driving, 20.5% of drivers talked on cell phones daily, while 3.8% texted daily. The NDDOT’s “Wear It For Them” campaign showed efficacy, with 30.4% of viewers reporting increased seat belt usage. The study concludes that while many drivers adopt safe practices, substantial disparities exist based on geography and demographics. Young male drivers exhibited significantly higher risk behaviors, including a 50.7% higher likelihood of speeding on 65 mph roads and a 32% higher rate of driving after drinking compared to other drivers. They were also far more likely to engage in distracted driving, with only 37.9% reporting they never text while driving, compared to 63.7% of other drivers. The authors emphasize that continual measurement of these behaviors is essential for identifying safety needs and facilitating targeted interventions to improve roadway safety in North Dakota.
Key finding
Young male drivers aged 18 to 34 were 50.7 percent more likely than other groups to speed on 65 mph roads, and only 37.9 percent never texted while driving versus 63.7 percent of all other drivers.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: 1433
Provenance
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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified_with_issues.
Topics
Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.
- sex gender
- seat belt use
- incidence prevalence
- public messaging
- cultural cross national
- traffic safety culture
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
- Methodological Resource: dataset resource