Investigating Distracted Driving Technologies Among Different Sociodemographic Groups 

Abstract
Distracted driving is widely acknowledged as a significant issue in the United States and around the world. A growing number of studies has created deeper ties between crash risk and how drivers participate in technology-based distractions. Among the several possible sources of in-vehicle technology distractions, cellphone use and texting are the most alarming. Studies have shown that cellphone use among experienced drivers, both dialing and talking, increases the probability of a crash by a factor of four. Distracted driving behaviors and the use of technology must be understood among people with varied sociodemographic characteristics to reduce or prevent distracted driving. The main goal of this study is to investigate the level of distraction of different types of devices and technologies among drivers within different sociodemographic groups, especially minorities in the State of Maryland using a stated preference survey. Some158 completed the online survey. This study investigates the usage of devices including handsfree cellphone, handheld cellphone, texting, voice to text, reading social media, responding to emails, and GPS, as well as five categories of car technologies, including blind-spot warning systems, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, and hands-off detection. This research is in line with the topic “Balancing equity and efficiency when deploying emerging transportation technologies” of the conference and helps the planners target each group of distracted drivers specifically, and efficiently raise awareness and educate drivers about the distractive technologies they usually employ. This study extends previous research by the authors in which they focused on distracted driving behavior in Maryland during the COVID-19 pandemic using a stated preference survey, which showed that during the pandemic, distraction dropped from 25% to 21%. The highest reported distracted driving behavior during the pandemic was using a handsfree cellphone (64%), GPS while driving (75%) and eating or drinking (57%). Moreover, it was revealed that the odds of becoming distracted among participants who use handheld cellphone before and during the pandemic was 4.5 and 6.6 times higher than others, respectively. Therefore, the research team extends the analyses to investigate what devices and technologies distract which specific sociodemographic groups. This study is financially supported by the Maryland Department of Transportation - Motor Vehicle Administration - Maryland Highway Safety Office and the Urban Mobility & Equity Center at Morgan State University.