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Smartphone usage while driving, and particularly texting, poses a major concern for road safety. The goal of this study is to suggest a novel and objective means to measure the smartphone usage among young drivers. A naturalistic study was conducted with 254 Israeli young drivers who installed a research-oriented smartphone app which continuously monitors smartphones usage while driving. The app captures the actual number of times drivers are 'touching' their smartphone screens, the speed at which these screen-touches occur, foreground apps and time stamps. The results, which are based on 3304 h of driving performed in 11,528 trips, indicate that young drivers touch their smartphone screen on average 1.6 times per minute of driving. Alarmingly, more than half of the screen-touches are performed while the vehicle is in motion, and some touches occur even at speeds higher than 100 km/h. The screen-touches occur throughout the trip regardless of its duration. Approximately half of them are performed while using WhatsApp, a popular free messaging app. These findings provide objective evidence to the actual and intensive usage of smartphones. While comparing these results to participants' self-reports, it was found that young drivers clearly underestimate their smartphone usage while driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An indispensable issue in contemporary research on risk-taking by young drivers is parents’ influence on their offspring’s driving behavior. The current study measures this influence by using a risk index of parents’ driving behavior measured via in-vehicle data recorders together with young drivers’ self-reported answers to a set of questionnaires. Both parents and young drivers participated in one of three intervention program groups to enhance safe driving within a longitudinal study, and the outcome of this intervention was measured 15 months following licensure. The aim of the current study was thus to assess the contribution of parents’ actual driving behavior, participation in the intervention, and teen drivers’ attitudes towards accompanied driving (measured six months after licensure), to the reported risky driving of the young drivers fifteen months after receiving their driving license. The data consist of a sample of 78 parent-young driver dyads who were originally randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (receiving different forms of feedback) or a control group (with no feedback). Findings indicate that the feedback and training to parents intervention group, as well as parents’ risky driving events rate, were positively associated with the reported proneness to reckless driving and the reckless driving habits of the young drivers. In addition, lower perception of accompanied driving as enabling a sense of relatedness with parents, and higher negative perceptions of this period, were related to higher reported risky driving among young drivers fifteen months after licensure. The results highlight the importance of parents’ behavior and relationships with their offspring as key concepts in moderating risky driving among young drivers. Practical implications for road safety are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphone usage while driving, a prominent type of driver distraction, has become a major concern in the area of road safety. Answers to an internet survey by 757 Israeli drivers who own smartphones were analyzed with focus on two main purposes: (1) to gain insights regarding patterns of smartphone usage while driving and its motivation, (2) to probe drivers’ views on the perceived risk and the need to use smartphones while driving, as well as their willingness to use blocking apps that limit such usages. Phone calls and texting were found to be the most common usages while driving, hence, both were chosen to be further analyzed. 73% ( N = 551) of the respondents make phone calls while driving and almost half of them may be considered frequent callers as they admit to do it intensively while driving. As for texting, 35% of the respondents ( N = 256) text while driving and a quarter of them do so frequently. While phone calls were perceived to compromise safety by 34% of the users, texting was perceived to compromise safety by 84% of the users. However, we found that drivers place limitations on themselves as more than 70% avoid texting when they think they need to devote attention to driving. A logistic regression model indicates that perceived need and perceived safety are significant factors associated with being a frequent smartphone phone calls user, but only perceived need significantly predicts being a frequent texting user. Approximately half of all the respondents are willing to try an app which blocks smartphone usage while driving. The willingness to use such technology was found to be related primarily to perceived need. Less significant factors are work-related usage and perceived safety. Frequency of usage was not found to affect this willingness, indicating that it should not be a factor in designing and implementing interventions to limit smartphone usage while driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the main factors affecting road crash injuries, speed is considered as a leading cause and contributing factor. There are numerous studies linking travel speeds and road crashes. Hence, an essential part of road safety plans and interventions is devoted to speed management. However, to manage speed, actual travel speeds have to be systematically and consistently monitored and analyzed. In this study, a system for the collection and analysis of free-flow travel speeds on the road network is presented, enabling speed monitoring at the nationwide level. The paper focuses on the collection and analysis of travel speeds on different road sections. Using the information gathered through advanced technologies combined with geographical information systems, a comprehensive speed database in space and time is provided allowing visual presentation and comparison of the results. This analysis can identify the road sections with significant excesses of travel speeds relative to the speed limits. It can also serve as a baseline to evaluate the impact of various counter-measures employed to reduce speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the prominent issues in contemporary research on young drivers deals with the mechanisms underlying parents’ influences on their offspring's driving behavior. The present study combines two sets of data: the first gathered from in-vehicle data recorders tracking the driving of parents and their teenage sons, and the second derived from self-report questionnaires completed by the young drivers. The aim was to evaluate the contribution of parents’ driving behavior, participation in a parent-targeted intervention, and the teen drivers’ perception of the family climate for road safety, to the driving behavior of young drivers during solo driving. The data was collected over the course of 12 months, beginning with the licensure of the teen driver, and examined a sample of 166 families who were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (receiving different forms of feedback) or a control group (with no feedback). Findings indicate that young male drivers’ risky driving events rate was positively associated with that of their parents. In addition, any type of intervention led to a lower rate of risky driving events among young drivers compared to the control group. Finally, a higher perception of parents as not committed to safety and lower perceived parental monitoring were related to a higher risky driving events rate among young drivers. The results highlight the need to consider a complex set of antecedents in parents’ attitudes and behavior, as well as the family's safety atmosphere, in order to better understand young drivers’ risky driving. The practical implications refer to the effective use of the family as a lever in the attempt to promote safety awareness among young drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphone usage while driving is a worldwide phenomenon which is acknowledged as a major concern for road safety. While being a major cause of risk, smartphones apps may also serve as a means to control and reduce risky driving behavior. However, it is still unclear which apps should be favored and what features and functions compose such valuable apps. The purpose of this paper is to establish a blueprint for smartphone apps that will have the greatest potential to reduce injury crashes. The study is based on apps mapping and experts' opinions retrieved through an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Thirty seven experts participated in the study and evaluated and graded nine widespread types of apps according to various criteria. When weighing safety considerations versus acceptance concerns, they were found to be almost equally important. The results clearly define the desirable types of smartphone apps: collision warning, texting prevention (both no-typing and no-reading), voice control (both text-to-speech and commands), and Green Box (In Vehicle Data Recorder – IVDR). However, while texting prevention and IVDR are not likely to be widely accepted and used, collision warning and voice control apps are expected to gain public support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]