National Telephone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors – 2012 [Traffic Tech]

NHTSA · 2013 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report presents the findings of the 2012 National Telephone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors, conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The study aimed to monitor public attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behaviors regarding cell phone use, texting, and driver choices, serving as a follow-up to the first national survey conducted in 2010. The survey was administered via telephone to 6,016 respondents aged 16 and older between February and June 2012, with an oversampling of young adults aged 16 to 34. The data collection included 3,872 landline and 2,144 cell phone interviews. The analysis revealed shifts in driving behaviors compared to 2010. Fewer respondents reported answering or making cell phone calls while driving; those who always or almost always answered calls declined from 33% to 28%, and those making calls dropped from 10% to 6%. Conversely, the percentage of respondents sending text messages while driving increased from 12% to 14%. Notably, 19% of respondents reported decreased cell phone use while driving in the past 30 days, primarily due to safety awareness, up from 12% in 2010. Cluster analysis identified two distinct driver groups: 33% were classified as "distraction-prone" and 67% as "distraction-averse." Distraction-prone drivers tended to be younger, more affluent, and more educated, with over half of drivers aged 35 and under falling into this category, compared to only 5% of those aged 65 or older. Regarding specific behaviors, 11% of respondents always and 17% almost always answered calls while driving, with 58% of these individuals continuing to drive during conversations. For texting, 10% of respondents sent messages at least sometimes, while 14% read them. Among those who texted, 44% waited for stop lights or signs, whereas 35% continued driving. Perceptions of safety varied; while half of drivers talking on phones reported no change in driving quality, 17% admitted to being distracted. As passengers, respondents felt very unsafe if drivers were watching movies, using laptops, or reading (95%), and also felt unsafe if drivers were sending (86%) or reading (85%) texts. Distraction-averse drivers were significantly more likely to feel unsafe regarding texting than distraction-prone drivers (95% vs. 67%). The study found strong public support for legislative bans, with 74% supporting bans on handheld phone use and 94% supporting bans on texting. Support for handheld bans increased from 68% in 2010 to 74% in 2012. Respondents recommended higher fines for texting than for phone use, with distraction-averse drivers advocating for higher penalties than distraction-prone drivers. Drivers aged 45–64 recommended the highest fines. Overall, 70% of respondents perceived distracted driving as common, believing more than half of drivers talk on cell phones occasionally. These findings highlight a growing awareness of safety risks and increasing public demand for stricter regulations, despite persistent engagement in distracted behaviors, particularly among younger demographics.

Key finding

Self-reported texting while driving rose from 12 percent in 2010 to 14 percent in 2012, even as drivers who always or almost always answered calls fell from 33 percent to 28 percent.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 6016

Provenance

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

Topics

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• distraction laws
• mobile phones
• distraction detection algorithms
• visual manual
• temporal
• visual

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, behavioral performance data