Distracted Driving Behavior Among Adults in the Perambalur District: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Distracted driving is a major public health concern. Distraction results in reduced speed control, lateral lane position, reduced situational awareness, and impaired response times to roadway hazards. Visual, cognitive, and manual distractions impair drivers in different ways. With the above background, this study was conducted with the objective of estimating the proportion of distracted driving behavior and its predictors among the adult population in the Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu, India, by using the Total Distracted Driving Scale. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 adults aged 18 years and above by convenience sampling technique in the Perambalur district for six months. A pretested, semi-structured proforma was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics such as age, sex, education, and occupation. To quantify distracted driving behavior, the Total Distracted Driving Scale was used. This scale contains seven questions about talking on the phone, five questions about texting, and five questions about using specific devices while driving. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distracted driving behavior with respect to each variable, and to find out the significance, a corresponding statistical test was employed. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The mean age of the study participants was 24.86 ± 10.63 years. More than half of the study subjects (52.4 percent) were females, and around 87.3 percent of them were Hindu by religion. Among the study participants, around 66.74 percent mentioned that they had used a cell phone while driving. Around 38 percent of the study participants admitted that they had been in or were near-crash circumstances during the past year. Around 87 percent of the study participants who had a crash or near-crash in the past year admitted that they had been distracted while driving. On primary analysis, religion of individuals and increased driving frequency had a statistically significant association with a history of distracted driving. Study participants who were using three- and four-wheelers and those who used cellphones while driving had a statistically significant association with a history of distracted driving. According to the regression, cell phone users are 3.915 times more distracted than those who do not use cellphones (p = 0.001). Subjects with a history of crashes or near-crashes were 56.96 times more distracted than those without a history (p < 0.001). Conclusion In the present study, three-fourths of the study population used a cell phone while driving. More than three-fourths of the study participants admitted that they had been in a crash or near-crash circumstances during the past year. Distracted driving was responsible for four-fifths of all crashes or near-collisions. Use of a cell phone while driving and a history of near-crashes have a higher risk of distraction than those who do not.