UNR surveys Nevadans about driving behavior and attitudes
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 1:53pm
The Center for Research Design and Analysis was contracted by the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety to conduct a telephone survey about Nevadans' driving behavior and attitudes. The objectives of this survey included gathering behavioral self-reported and opinion data on key safety issues, such as impaired driving, safety belts, speeding, and distracted driving. The OTS also was interested in examining the effect that a "Click it or Ticket" (CIOT) campaign had on respondents' answers to safety belt questions. The CIOT campaign ran from May 21, 2012 through June 3, 2012.
In 2010, all states agreed to conduct and report information from driver surveys annually. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) agreed on a core set of nine survey questions.
The self reported data shows that over the past year, there was a modest rise in the percentage of Nevadans reporting that they always use seatbelts (85.2 percent in 2011 vs. 91 percent in 2012); 15.6 percent of Nevadans indicate that they drive faster than 70 mph half the time (in a 65-mph zone compared to 20 percent in 2011), and 13.7 percent reported that they exceed this speed limit by at least 5 mph most of the time (compared to 9.5 percent in 2011).
When answering the question - “What caused the frequency with which you send and receive text messages or e-mails while driving to decrease?” some 32.7 percent credited the decrease to their increased awareness of safety, 48.6 percent indicated a decrease because of the law that bans cell phone use while driving, 7.7 percent reported it was because they did not want to receive a ticket, and another 3.6 percent attributed it to influence/pressure from others. A sizable proportion of respondents (18.4 percent) cited a different reason for their decrease in texting/emailing while driving, including a general decrease in driving and having a passenger text or email on the driver’s behalf.
Why the survey was conducted
Self-reported surveys can provide valuable information from drivers or the general public that can’t be obtained another way. This information includes views on the priorities of various traffic safety issues and on potential law or policy changes, knowledge of laws and penalties, perceptions of enforcement, awareness of recent enforcement and media campaigns, and self-reported behavior.
What information was collected
The nine core NHTSA-GHSA questions address self-reported behavior, media awareness, and enforcement awareness for each of the three major highway safety areas: impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding. The survey also provided basic demographic information for the respondents: age and gender, ethnicity, residential Zip Code, type of vehicle driven most frequently, etc. Nevada asked additional questions that addressed its new distracted driving law, traffic enforcement programs, and media campaigns.
Who was eligible to participate
Respondent selection and eligibility in the study was based on the following criteria, verified at contact: the number must be a private residence in Nevada (or a personal cell phone in the cell phone random sample) and the respondent must be (1) 18 years of age or older, (2) have a valid driver's license (in any state), and (3) have driven in Nevada within the past 60 days. Passengers, pedestrians, and those who only ride bicycles or drive mopeds or scooters were not eligible for the study.
When the survey was conducted
Beginning on March 27th of 2012, CRDA collected data to measure the public’s awareness of the campaign, their perceptions of enforcement, and their self-reported behavior. The sample ranged in size from 1,651 to 1,816 numbers, both land line and cell phones. Data collection concluded on July 22nd, of 2012.
The full report can be viewed below.
