Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The data presented in this study are available on request and upon signing a data use agreement from author Dan Romer.
This study examines whether cell phone use stands apart from a general pattern of risky driving practices associated with crashes and impulsivity-related personality traits in young drivers. A retrospective online survey study recruited 384 young drivers from across the United States using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to complete a survey measuring risky driving practices (including cell phone use), history of crashes, and impulsivity-related personality traits. Almost half (44.5%) of the drivers reported being involved in at least one crash, and the majority engaged in cell phone use while driving (up to 73%). Factor analysis and structural equation modeling found that cell phone use loaded highly on a latent factor with other risky driving practices that were associated with prior crashes (b = 0.15, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.29]). There was also an indirect relationship between one form of impulsivity and crashes through risky driving (b = 0.127, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.30]). Additional analyses did not find an independent contribution to crashes for frequent cell phone use. These results suggest a pattern of risky driving practices associated with impulsivity in young drivers, indicating the benefit of exploring a more comprehensive safe driving strategy that includes the avoidance of cell phone use as well as other risky practices, particularly for young drivers with greater impulsive tendencies.
Keywords: young drivers, motor vehicle crashes, cell phone use, impulsivity, risky driving practicesIn North America, both epidemiological and observational studies have shown that cell phone use while driving is associated with increased crash and near-crash risk [1,2]. In 2018, distracted driver crashes accounted for 8% of fatal crashes on U.S. roads, killing 2841 people [3]. Furthermore, compared to all other age groups, young adults aged 20–29 years are over-represented in cell phone-related fatal crashes [3]. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have bans on hand-held phone conversations for all drivers, and 48 states have specific texting bans [4]. For young drivers, specifically, 38 states and D.C. have cell phone bans. Evaluations of the effectiveness of these interventions show mixed results: some evidence reductions in cell phone use [5,6]—and perhaps more so for handheld calls than texting bans—but inconsistent evidence of reductions in motor vehicle crashes [7]. Although the success of these policies may have been limited by insufficient education and enforcement, an insurance claims analysis showed that cell phone bans were not effective in reducing crashes, even in areas with high-visibility enforcement [8].
One possibility is that drivers who frequently engage in cell phone use while driving may also engage in other intentional risky practices while driving [9]. A 2013 study of Boston-area drivers aged 20–69 years found that self-reported cell phone use while driving was associated with more self-reported risky driving behaviors and observed risky driving during an on-road assessment [10]. A 2018 study of Philadelphia drivers aged 18–20 years found a similar pattern of self-reported risk [11]. In other words, while cell phone use may be one source of risk, this behavior may reflect a larger propensity to engage in a variety of risky driving activities. These data suggest that cell phone use while driving may not adequately address the underlying risk, which may highlight a need for interventions addressing patterns of risky practice (rather than targeting the individual behavior of cell phone use) [12].
There is also evidence of a link between impulsivity-related personality traits, specifically, weaker impulse control (acting without considering consequences) and sensation seeking (seeking novel and exciting experiences) and risky driving practices, including cell phone use, in young drivers [13,14]. In addition, weakened ability to delay the gratification of rewards, considered a behavioral indication of weak impulse control, has been positively associated with cell phone use on the road in some studies [15,16], but not in another [17]. One study found that impulsivity also partially explained differences in driving performance between recreational cannabis users and controls [18]. Drivers who are more impulsive may find it difficult to ignore cell phone alerts while driving and avoid other risky driving practices, and those with high sensation seeking tendencies may be more inclined to take other risks on the road, such as running red lights or driving after consuming alcohol [19].
There are well-documented developmental changes in impulsivity-related personality traits that may explain increased risk-taking behaviors in young drivers [20,21,22,23]. Neuro-behavioral theories suggest that this is attributable to ongoing structural and functional changes in the brain (through adolescence and into adulthood). In particular, the ongoing maturation of the prefrontal cortex and the associated executive control system that supports self-regulation and cognitive control over behavior may explain weaker impulse control, while rising dopaminergic activity in the brain’s reward circuit may also explain increased sensation seeking [20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. However, there is also evidence for substantial individual variability in these traits and the underlying neural and cognitive development, which may explain variable risk-taking in young drivers [24]. If impulsive personality differences underlie tendencies to engage in risky driving practices, including cell phone use, then interventions that discourage the use of cell phones with respect to underlying personality differences may be more effective.
In order to better understand risky driving practices, the current study recruited a sample of young adult drivers from across the United States to determine: (i) whether cell phone use while driving is only one of several other co-occurring risky driving practices in which young drivers engage (replicating prior findings); (ii) if this pattern of dangerous driving behavior is related to crashes (maintaining constant factors such as sex and number of years driving); and (iii) what role sensation seeking and impulsivity play in the relationship between risky driving and crashes. Thus, this study expands on our prior work by including a larger and more geographically diverse sample, with the addition of other known risk factors of impulsivity-related personality traits. We hypothesize that (i) drivers who frequently engage in cell-phone use while driving will also frequently engage in other risky driving behaviors associated with crashes, and (ii) that this pattern of risk-taking will be associated with weaker impulse control (due to the ongoing maturation of executive cognitive control at the transition to adulthood). If a pattern of risky driving is associated with a history of crashes and risk-taking personality differences, then this has important implications for future research to inform the design and delivery of interventions at both the individual and public health level, potentially calling for a more personalized prevention strategy.
Participants were recruited via the Amazon MTurk Prime Panels and directed to an online survey hosted by the Psytoolkit survey platform. A sample of 384 licensed drivers aged 18–24 years from across the United States completed the survey, and all data were collected over the course of 5 days in November 2017: the mean age was 21.41 years (SD = 1.96). Table 1 shows the sample demographics. Drivers participated from across the four U.S. census regions (including 44 states: see Table 1 ). Two participants reported having a license from another country. The University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board (IRB) determined this study exempt from its review because no sensitive or identifiable information was collected from survey respondents.
Sample characteristics: gender, age, and U.S. census region.