Accidents and violence: Cell phone use and traffic crash risk: A culpability analysis

Mark Asbridge, Jeff R. Brubacher, Herbert Chan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

85 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: The use of a cell phone or communication device while driving is illegal in many jurisdictions, yet evidence evaluating the crash risk associated with cell phone use in naturalistic settings is limited. This article aims to determine whether cell phone use while driving increases motor vehicle crash culpability. Method: Drivers involved in crashes where police reported cell phone use (n = 312) and propensity matched drivers (age, sex, suspect alcohol/drug impairment, crash type, date, time of day, geographical location) without cell phone use (n = 936) were drawn from Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Traffic Accident System data. A standardized scoring tool, modified to account for Canadian driving conditions, was used to determine crash culpability from police reports on all drivers from the crashes. The association between crash culpability and cell phone use was determined, with additional subgroup analyses based on crash severity, driver characteristics and type of licence. Results: A comparison of crashes with vs without cell phones revealed an odds ratio of 1.70 (95% confidence interval 1.22-2.36; P = 0.002). This association was consistent after adjustment for matching variables and other covariates. Subgroup analyses demonstrated an association for male drivers, unimpaired drivers, injured and non-injured drivers, and for drivers aged between 26 and 65 years. Conclusions: Crash culpability was found to be significantly associated with cell phone use by drivers, increasing the odds of a culpable crash by 70% compared with drivers who did not use a cell phone. This increased risk was particularly high for middle-aged drivers.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberdys180
Pages (from-to)259-267
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Epidemiology
Volume42
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by AUTO21, a member of the Networks of Centres of Excellence programme that is administered and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, in partnership with Industry Canada (BA301-BTN). The funding source had no role in the design, analysis or interpretation of the data, nor in the preparation and submission of the manuscript. Dr. Brubacher is supported by a scholar award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Epidemiology

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