An Investigation of Drivers’ Comprehension of Distracted Driving Slogans
- 1 Department of Engineering, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, USA
- 2 Department of Engineering, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, USA
- 3 Department of Engineering, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, USA
- 4 Civil and Environmental Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA
Abstract
Distracted driving occurs when a driver diverts the primary attention from driving to another task. Using mobile devices such as a cellphone for texting, calls, or other manipulation while driving has the highest potential for distraction because it combines both forms of distractions, manual, visual, and cognitive. Some states in the US have posted slogans including “ W 8 2 TXT , it ’ s a law ”, “ Don ’ t Drive inTEXTicated ”, “ PLS dnt txt n drv ”, “ Don ’ t tempt F 8 that txt can w 8”, and “ DNT TXT & DRV ” along highways to convey the dan gers and laws regarding distracted driving to minimize incidences of dis tracted-related crashes This study surveyed 347 people using the five distraction slogans in a college town. The results showed that younger drivers have a higher level of comprehension compared to older drivers. Further, the results showed that drivers with university education or more years of driving experience have a higher comprehension level of distraction signs compared to their counterparts.
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