The prevalence and correlates of texting while driving among a population-based sample of Ontario students

Abstract

This research demonstrates that TWD is an extremely common behavior among licensed student drivers in Ontario, particularly among those who have passed the first stage of graduated licensing. TWD is associated with other risky driving behaviors and outcomes, and the findings from this study underscore the need to better understand the harms associated with this behavior.

The Prevalence of Several Risky Driving Behaviors and Associated Crash Risk in Adolescent: A Population-Based Study of Tuscany Region

“…Consistent with some of these studies, our results showed that the frequency of talking on the phone and texting was not associated with sex but was positively associated with age. As for impaired driving, the prevalence of DUI of alcohol or drugs resulted to be relatively high, especially among males and older adolescents; these findings are consistent with prevalence studies from other countries [20,21].…”

“…These frequencies of participation result to be lower than those reported by studies carried out in the United States [17,22] and higher than other regional estimates from Canada [19,21]. Past research on sex and age differences in talking on the phone and texting among adolescents is inconclusive, with some studies reporting males and older adolescents more frequently engaged and others reporting no differences [17,19,21,22]. Consistent with some of these studies, our results showed that the frequency of talking on the phone and texting was not associated with sex but was positively associated with age.…”

“…As far as talking on the phone and texting are concerned, a relevant proportion of adolescents reported to participate in these RDBs, with around half of these reporting a several times a week frequency of participation. These frequencies of participation result to be lower than those reported by studies carried out in the United States [17,22] and higher than other regional estimates from Canada [19,21]. Past research on sex and age differences in talking on the phone and texting among adolescents is inconclusive, with some studies reporting males and older adolescents more frequently engaged and others reporting no differences [17,19,21,22].…”

“…Furthermore, the driving behaviors of male and female adolescent drivers need to be regularly reexamined as changing gender roles may influence the participation in RDBs [18]. However, to date, prevalence studies assessing multiple risky driving behaviors among adolescents on large-scale representative samples remain very limited, especially outside the North American contexts [17,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…Lastly, as for the role played by the different RDBs in causing RTA in adolescents, some RDBs are extensively examined in the literature, such as speeding, driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or illegal drugs, texting and talking on the phone while driving. For these RDBs there is overwhelming evidence of a significant increase of RTA risk [6,21,[23][24][25][26]. On the other hand, other common RDBs -such as eating/drinking, smoking, listening to loud music, talking to passenger(s)-appear to be hardly studied in the literature, and their role in increasing the risk of RTA has still to be elucidated [6,13,23,27].…”