TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS Research Note DOT HS 811 845 July 2011 Four High-Visibility Enforcement Demonstration Waves in Connecticut and New York Reduce Hand-Held Phone Use By Linda Cosgrove, Neil Chaudhary, and Ian Reagan The National Highway Traffic interim report addressing the first “Good laws Drivers using Safety Administration initiated two waves is available (Cosgrove coupled distracted driving demonstration et al., 2010). hand-held with tough programs in two communities cell phones enforcement to test whether a high-visibility Background while driving can reduce enforcement (HVE) model could In 2009, NHTSA estimated that dropped 57% deadly dis- reduce two specific instances 5% of drivers nationwide were in Hartford of distracted driving— talking using a hand-held cell phone tracted driving (from 6.8% to or texting using a hand-held while driving at any given day- behavior.” cell phone. The light time, down from 2.9%) and 32% —Transportation HVE model com- 6% in 2008 (Pickrell in Syracuse Secretary bines dedicated law & Ye, 2010). The esti- (from 3.7% to Ray LaHood enforcement during mated total number 2.5%). a specified period, of drivers using hand- paid and earned media that emphasizes an held cell phones was Drivers who enforcement-based message, and evalua- 672,000 (5% of 134 were texting tion before and after. NHTSA’s best known million drivers on the DISTRACTED DRIVING while driving and most successful HVE campaign is A deadly epidemic road) at a typical day- the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement light moment in the declined 72% mobilization. HVE has also been effective The Definition: United States in 2009. in Hartford in combating aggressive driving, impaired ■ Distracted Driving is any (from 3.9% to driving, and speeding. The demonstration non-driving activity a Driving while dis- person engages in that takes 1.1%) and 32% projects were aimed to test whether HVE tracted increases the attention away from the in Syracuse would be effective in modifying driver primary task of driving. likelihood of a crash behavior to not use hand-held phones ■ Internal distractions occur (NHTSA, 2010) and (from 2.8% to inside the vehicle and can even experienced driv- to talk or text, whether law enforcement be in the form of using a cell 1.9%). would be able to observe violations, and phone, eating and drinking, ers who divert their talking to other passengers, gaze from the roadway for longer than 2 sec- whether an HVE campaign would increase watching a video, or drivers’ perceived risk of receiving a cita- changing the radio station. onds increase their crash risk (Klauer et al., tion for violating the law. ■ External distractions occur 2006). A meta-analysis (Horrey & Wickens, outside the vehicle and can 2006) of 23 experiments that measured the include looking at other This report summarizes results from four motorists, pedestrians, effects of cell phone use on driving perfor- HVE waves over the course of one year road conditions, or even mance found that, across all studies, reaction the scenery. targeting distracted driving in Hartford, times were consistently slower when using a Connecticut, and Syracuse, New York. An cell phone than when not using a phone. NHTSA’s Office of Behavioral Safety Research 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 2 Many State legislatures have introduced laws banning Figure 1 hand-held cell phone use and texting in the past few Demonstration Program and Evaluation Timeline in years. New York1 and Connecticut2 passed laws ban- Harford, CT & Syracuse, NY ning hand-held cell phone use while driving in 2001 First Wave With Two Weeks of Paid Media and 2005, respectively. At the time of this report, 8 MAR 2010 APR MAY States and the District of Columbia have banned hand- Earned Media held cell phone use for all drivers, and 32 States and Paid Media Enforcement the District have banned texting for all drivers (GHSA, Evaluation Activities 2011). Thirty States also ban any use of a cell phone Public Awareness Cell Phone Observations (even with a hands-free device) for novice teen drivers. Wave 1 Under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Waves 2, 3, and 4 With One Week of Paid Media Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, NHTSA JUL 2010 AUG SEP OCT MAR 2011 APR Earned Media awarded two $200,000 cooperative agreements to Paid Media Connecticut and New York to implement and evaluate Enforcement demonstration programs that apply the high-visibility Evaluation Activities Public Awareness enforcement model to distracted driving at the commu- Cell Phone Observations nity level. Each state contributed an additional $100,000 Wave 2 Wave 3 Wave 4 to the federal funds. Syracuse and Hartford (a combina- tion of three contiguous cities—East Hartford, Hartford, Office participated. There were four waves of enforce- and West Hartford) conducted the demonstrations. ment over the course of one year. Program Description Under separate contracts, NHTSA provided evaluation NHTSA worked with the Connecticut Department and communications support to both sites. Preusser of Transportation and the New York Department Research Group was the evaluation firm and the of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) Governor’s Traffic Safety Tombras Group was the communications firm. Committee to conduct model high-visibility enforce- The four waves of focused enforcement took place in ment programs in communities in the two States. In April, July, and October 2010 and March-April 2011. The Connecticut, the participating law enforcement agen- timeline shows the schedule for evaluation data collec- cies were the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford, tion, media flights, and enforcement in test and control West Hartford, and East Hartford Police Departments. sites before and after each of the four waves. In New York, the New York State Police, the Syracuse Police Department, and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Development of the Creative Material NHTSA’s Office of Communications and Consumer 1 New York’s Hand-Held Law: Effective December 1, 2001. Use of a Information developed and tested new TV, radio, and hand-held cellular telephone to engage in a call while driving is online creative materials. Phone in One Hand, Ticket in prohibited. Violators may be issued a ticket for a traffic infraction, the Other became NHTSA’s distracted driving high- resulting in a fine of up to $100. Effective February 16, 2011, 2 driver penalty points will be assessed, in addition to the fine, for visibility enforcement message. The creative material violations of the cell-phone law. Source: NY Vehicle and Traffic, was designed to generate high awareness of stepped- Title 7, Article 33 §1225-c-d. up enforcement efforts about local cell phone laws New York’s Texting Law: Effective November 1, 2009. New York’s hand-held law prohibits all drivers from using portable electronic and convince drivers to adhere to those laws. The cre- devices to send text messages or e-mails while driving. The penalty ative materials are available at www.distraction.gov/ for a violation of this law is a fine of up to $150. It is a secondary law, campaign-tools/broadcast-materials. which requires other probable cause to initiate a stop. 2 Connecticut’s Hand-Held/Texting Law: Effective October 1, 2010. Connecticut’s new law imposed stronger penalties for motorists Earned Media using a hand-held electronic device for talking or texting. For example, the original exemption for first-time offenders who Secretary LaHood, NHTSA Administrator David provide proof of hand-held devices to the court is eliminated; Strickland, and senior State and local officials launched and the fines for violations increase with each subsequent law the campaign with press events (U.S. DOT, 2010) in both violation. Texting is a primary, stand-alone, basis for a ticket. The first offense fine is $100, $150 for the second offense, and $200 for New York and Connecticut on April 8, 2010. For New third and subsequent offenses. Source: CT Public Act No. 10-109. York, former Governor Paterson, Congressman Dan NHTSA’s Office of Behavioral Safety Research 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 3 Maffei, former DMV Commissioner David Swarts, and communities and universities, and national coverage Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler led the Syracuse, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York event. For Connecticut, Lt Governor Michael Boston Globe, Consumer Reports, MSNBC.com, ABC News Fedele, Governor’s Highway Safety Representative Good Morning America, FOX News, CBS, and ABC’s 20/20. Robbin Cabelus, former State senator Billy Ciotto for Congressman John Larson, Hartford Police Department To support social norming messages between the high- Lt Robert Allan, and Dr. Brendan Campbell from the visibility enforcement periods, ESPN, NHTSA, and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center led the Hartford State Farm Insurance promoted the “Put It Down” cam- event. Both events generated considerable coverage paign to generate awareness of the dangers caused by from local and national media outlets, including a fea- distracted driving. ture on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America (Clarke, 2010) and a feature on ABC News (San Miguel, 2010). Paid Media NHTSA’s Office of Communications and Consumer Each of the demonstration sites received sample earned Information purchased air time to promote the pro- media templates so that they could develop localized gram activity and emphasize the enforcement compo- press releases, fact sheets, and post wave press releases. nent among the target audience of men and women 18 Outreach with the news media and various partners to 45 years old. The television spots are available online during each wave resulted in scores of articles and at www.distraction.gov/hartford and www.distraction. events in both States. In Connecticut and New York, gov/syracuse.