April 2006 - Driver Inattention Cited as Leading Factor in Crashes

Driver inattention is the leading factor in crashes and near-crashes, according to a research report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI).

Nearly 80 percent of crashes, and 65 percent of near-crashes, involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study tracked the behavior of the drivers of 100 vehicles equipped with video and sensor devices for more than one year. During that time, the vehicles were driven nearly 2,000,000 miles, yielding 42,300 hours of data. The 241 drivers of the vehicles were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near crashes, and 8,295 critical incidents.

In addition, a follow-up analysis to the 100-Car Study has also been released. Key findings of the study, which focused on the types of driver inattention and their associated risk, include:

• Drowsiness is a significant problem that increases a driver’s risk of a crash or near-crash by at least a factor of four. However, drowsy driving may be significantly under-reported in police crash investigations.
• The most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones. The number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. While dialing is deemed more dangerous, it occurs less often than talking or listening.
• Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times.
• Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near-crash. However, drivers are often unable to predict when it is safe to look away from the road to multi-task because the situation can change abruptly, leaving the driver no time to react even when looking away from the forward roadway for only a brief time.

The background and results of both studies are available on NHTSA’s Web site, under Research and Development, at www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-13/newDriverDistraction.html.

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The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.