National Survey of Speeding, Driving While Distracted, and Other Unsafe Driving Behaviors

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plays a central role in the national effort to reduce motor vehicle related traffic injuries and deaths. Speeding has been implicated as a cause of about a third of all fatal crashes. The contributions of driving while distracted, fatigued and aggressive driving to motor vehicle crashes are thought to be substantial, however, estimates are not available. The most recent survey data collected by NHTSA on unsafe driving behaviors was administered in 1997. Since that time there have been various changes in the driving environment including an extraordinary increase in the use of wireless phones in vehicles. The purpose of this study is to gather information on driver behavior with respect to speeding, driving while distracted, aggressive driving, and fatigue. The survey will also collect data on the conditions under which these behaviors typically occur as well as the public's views toward various unsafe driving behaviors and countermeasures they would support. To acquire these data, two surveys of about 15 minutes in length will each be developed and administered to two separate national probability samples of 2,000 persons.