Young Drivers Report the Highest Level of Phone Involvement in Crash or Near-Crash Incidences

NHTSA · 2012 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This research note, published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2012, analyzes data from the first nationally representative telephone survey on distracted driving. The study focuses specifically on young drivers (ages 18–20) to understand their attitudes and behaviors regarding cell phone use while driving. The analysis is derived from a December 2011 survey of 6,000 drivers aged 18 and older across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The methodology employed random-digit dialing with oversampling of individuals aged 18 to 34 to ensure sufficient data for younger demographics. The findings reveal that young drivers aged 18 to 20 report the highest incidence of crash or near-crash experiences (23%) compared to all other age groups, with drivers aged 65 and older reporting the lowest incidence (8%). Among those involved in crashes or near-crashes, young drivers reported the highest level of phone involvement at the time of the incident (13%). Specifically, 8% of these young drivers were sending text messages or emails, 3% were reading them, and 2% were talking on the phone. In contrast, drivers aged 25 to 34 were more likely to report talking on the phone during such incidents (10%). Regarding behavioral perceptions, most drivers, including 60% of those under 35, believe that talking on the phone makes no difference to their driving performance. However, perceptions differ for texting; while 25% of all drivers believe texting has no impact, young drivers are more likely than older counterparts to report that they drive slower when texting (37% versus 26–30%). Furthermore, younger drivers under 25 are more likely to acknowledge drifting out of their lane while texting (9–15%) compared to older drivers (3–5%). In terms of actual behavior, drivers under 24 are significantly more likely to send text messages while driving (44–49%) than older groups, with incidence dropping to less than 1% for those aged 65 and older. When texting, 73% of drivers aged 18 to 20 continue driving rather than pulling over. Additionally, young drivers are less likely to intervene if a driver is using a handheld phone, with only about one-third likely to speak up, compared to half of drivers aged 65 and older. The study concludes that young drivers represent a high-risk group for distracted driving, exhibiting higher rates of crash involvement, phone use during incidents, and texting while driving compared to older demographics. Despite recognizing some negative effects like driving slower or lane drifting, young drivers largely underestimate the risks of phone use. The data suggests that age is a significant factor in distracted driving behaviors, with risk decreasing steadily as drivers age. These findings highlight the need for targeted safety interventions for young drivers, particularly regarding texting and the normalization of phone use while operating a vehicle.

Key finding

Drivers aged 18 to 20 report the highest incidence of crash or near-crash experiences and the highest level of cell phone involvement at the time of these incidents compared to all other age groups.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 6000

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• sex gender
• mobile phones
• passenger effects
• novice drivers

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