Cell Phone Use by Drivers in Ellensburg
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
16-5-2013
End Date
16-5-2013
Abstract
Texting-while-driving has become a serious threat to traffic safety, but little research has been done on how this phenomenon varies with respect to spatial, temporal, and demographic factors. In October 2012, the students in Geography 306: Transportation Geography and Planning gathered information about the use of cell phones by drivers at six carefully selected locations in Ellensburg at four times per day over a one week period. During each 20-minute observation period, the students recorded whether each driver passing the selected locations could be observed talking on a cell phone, texting on a cell phone, or doing neither. The students also recorded the gender and approximate age (young, middle-aged, and older) of each driver as well as the weather conditions at the time of the observation. In total, data on 7,022 drivers were compiled. The results show that cell phone use by drivers (counting both texters and talkers) is more common in Ellensburg than in the United States more generally, that female drivers are more likely to use a cell phone while driving than male drivers, and that young people are more like to exhibit these behaviors than older ones. We further found that cell phone use was more common near the CWU campus especially on Water Street and least likely along Capitol Avenue near several Ellensburg public schools. We conclude by briefly assessing the public policy implications of our findings and offer several ideas for refining and extending our methodology.
Recommended Citation
Skyllingstad, Reed and Nelson, Sean, "Cell Phone Use by Drivers in Ellensburg" (2013). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 22.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2013/posters/22
Poster Number
29
Additional Mentoring Department
Geography
Cell Phone Use by Drivers in Ellensburg
SURC Ballroom C/D
Texting-while-driving has become a serious threat to traffic safety, but little research has been done on how this phenomenon varies with respect to spatial, temporal, and demographic factors. In October 2012, the students in Geography 306: Transportation Geography and Planning gathered information about the use of cell phones by drivers at six carefully selected locations in Ellensburg at four times per day over a one week period. During each 20-minute observation period, the students recorded whether each driver passing the selected locations could be observed talking on a cell phone, texting on a cell phone, or doing neither. The students also recorded the gender and approximate age (young, middle-aged, and older) of each driver as well as the weather conditions at the time of the observation. In total, data on 7,022 drivers were compiled. The results show that cell phone use by drivers (counting both texters and talkers) is more common in Ellensburg than in the United States more generally, that female drivers are more likely to use a cell phone while driving than male drivers, and that young people are more like to exhibit these behaviors than older ones. We further found that cell phone use was more common near the CWU campus especially on Water Street and least likely along Capitol Avenue near several Ellensburg public schools. We conclude by briefly assessing the public policy implications of our findings and offer several ideas for refining and extending our methodology.
Faculty Mentor(s)
John Bowen