National Survey of Speeding, Driving While Distracted and other Unsafe Driving Behaviors

OMB Control No. 2127-0613

Expiration Date xx/xx/xxxx

Attachment E

Question By Question Justification

SC1-SC5 Respondent Selection – Screening Questions for Cell Phone Sample

When a respondent is reached on their cell phone, the interviewer will start by asking the respondent if he/she is driving and if he/she is in a safe place to conduct the interview. Since the cell phone is used by most people as a personal device, there is not a respondent selection procedure. Additional questions are then asked of the respondent regarding cell phone use in order to make weighting adjustments when the cell phone only sample is combined with the landline sample.

SL1-SL1d Respondent Selection – Screening Questions for Land Line Sample

This set of screening questions is to identify and select eligible respondents for the land line phone portion of the telephone survey. The first question asks how many persons residing within the household are in the eligible age range (16 and older) to participate in the survey. If there is only one household member 16 or older, then the interviewer will ask to speak to that person. If there are multiple persons within the eligible age range residing within the household, then the most-recent birthday method will be used to randomly select the survey participant. This method is widely used and is considered to be the most unobtrusive.

SO1-SOd Respondent Selection – Screening Questions for Land Line Oversample

A random sample of the population 16 and older would yield an inadequate number of 16-to-34-year-old respondents, which is an age group that contributes inordinately to the speed problem and therefore a population of particular interest to this survey. The screening questions in this section will be used to randomly select an over-sample of young drivers to address this issue. The questions will be identical to SL1-SL1d, except that they will restrict the age range to 16-34.

SA1 Gender

The purpose of this question is to record the gender of the respondent. It will be used analytically to identify differences in attitudes and behavior related to speed between males and females. The gender will be recorded based on the interviewer’s observation of gender based on the respondent’s voice; however, if the interviewer cannot determine the gender of the respondent by voice observation, then the respondent will be asked for his or her gender.

GENERAL DRIVING INFORMATION

Q1 Driver Status

Respondents will be asked how frequently they usually drive a motor vehicle and those who do not drive will be skipped out of the parts of the interview about driving behaviors, as these questions are not appropriate for them.

Q2 Driver Vehicle Type

Respondents will be asked what type of vehicle they most frequently drive. It is important to know the types of vehicles driven as this may have some impact on driving behavior. The type of vehicle typically driven is very useful in designing countermeasures to reduce speeding.

SPEED BEHAVIOR

Q3-4 Driver Tendencies per Speed Relative to Other Traffic

Respondents will be asked two questions on how fast they drive relative to other traffic. These two questions provide general information on travel speeds and driving behavior. They are also trend questions that were used in previous versions of this survey.

SPEED BEHAVIOR ON VARIOUS ROAD TYPES

A series of parallel questions will be asked about driving behavior on three types of roads; Multi-Lane Divided Interstate-type Highways, Two-Lane Highways (one lane in each direction), and Neighborhood or Residential Streets. These three types of roads represent three distinct types of roadway with different driving challenges and different typical speeds. It is important to gather information of each type of road because not all drivers drive on all road types and drivers often have different driving behaviors depending on road type. Each set of questions in this series includes a screening question to skip the remainder of the section if the respondent does not drive on a certain road type, a measure of miles driven / driving exposure on the road type, a measure of perceived safe speeds on the road types, a measure of their typically speed on the road types, a measure of how often they go significantly over the speed limit, and a measure of their perception of law enforcement for speeding on the types of roads. These measures will provide baseline measures of their driving behavior and attitudes related to traffic speed and compare respondent these across road types. This will help target countermeasures for the specific types of driving environments.

Q5a-5f Multi-Lane Divided Interstate-type Highways

Question 5a asks the general frequency of driving on this type of road and screens respondents out of the remaining questions in the module if they say “Never.” Question 5b provides a specific quantifiable measure of miles driven / exposure on this type of road. Question 5c obtains the respondent’s view on what is a generally safe speed for driving on this type of road. Question 5d provides information on how fast, on average, they actually drive on this type of road, since many drivers view themselves as exceptionally good drivers compared to others. Question 5e asks if they ever drive at an excessive speed (15 mph over the speed limit) on this type of road and how often. Finally, question 5f asks how fast the average driver can go on this type of road before receiving a speeding ticket – a measure of their perception of existing law enforcement activity on this type of road.

Q6a-6f Two-Lane Highways – one lane in each direction

Question 6a determines the general frequency of driving on this type of road and screens respondents for the type of road they drive and skips respondents to the next set of questions if they do not drive on this type of road. Question 6b provides a specific quantifiable measure of miles driven / exposure on this type of road. Question 6c obtains the respondents view on what is a generally safe speed for driving on these types of roads. Question 6d provides information on how fast, on average, they actually drive on these types of roads, since many drivers view themselves as exceptionally good drivers compared to others. Question 6e provides information on if they ever drive at an excessive speed (15 mph over the speed limit) on these types of roads and how often. Finally, question 6f asks how fast the average driver can go on these types of roads before receiving a speeding ticket – a measure of their perception of existing law enforcement activity on this type of road.

Q7a-7f Neighborhood or Residential Streets

Question 7a determines the general frequency of driving on this type of road and screens respondents for the type of road they drive and skips respondents to the next set of questions if they do not drive on this type of road. Question 7b provides a specific quantifiable measure of miles driven / exposure on this type of road. Question 7c obtains the respondents view on what is a generally safe speed for driving on these types of roads. Question 7d provides information on how fast, on average, they actually drive on these types of roads. It is important to determine if they drive faster than the speed they think is safe for most drivers, since many drivers view themselves as exceptionally good drivers compared to others. Question 7e provides information on if they ever drive at an excessive speed (10 mph over the speed limit) on these types of roads and how often. Finally, question 7f asks how fast the average driver can go on these types of roads before receiving a speeding ticket – a measure of their perception of existing law enforcement activity on this type of road.

NORMS / FACTORS ON SPEEDING

It is important that NHTSA have an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing speeding behaviors in order for the Agency to determine how best to encourage compliance with speed laws traffic laws. This requires information on drivers’ general views on speed limits and driving (Q8a-8g), drivers’ motivations for driving faster than the speed limits (Q9a-9g, 10), and questions on why drivers obey the speed limits (Q11a-11f) . By collecting information on the norms and factors affecting all three of these aspects of speeding behavior, an analysis of the interplay of these variables is possible that will deepen our understanding of drivers’ travel speed choices and provide important information for developing countermeasures to deter speeding.

Q8a-8g General Views on Driving and Speed Limits

Questions 8a through 8g provide the respondents’ general views on driving and speed limits. They will provide NHTSA with a way to better evaluate driver perceptions of what is appropriate for the general driving population. These questions provide quantification for a scale to be used in factor analyses of drivers. This will provide important information for the development of education programs and other countermeasures to deter speeding.

9a-9g Respondent Motivations for Driving Fast

Questions 9a through 9g provide the respondents’ perceptions of their own driving as it relates to speed limits and why they sometimes speed. Theses questions will provide NHTSA with a way to better evaluate driver perceptions of what is appropriate for their own driving. These questions provide quantification for use in factor analyses of drivers and their motivations. This will provide important information for the development of countermeasures to deter speeding.

Q10 Reasons for Driving Faster than the Speed Limit

Question 10 is an open ended question to determine the primary reason that each respondent drives over the speed limit when they do so. This question will provide additional information on the motivations behind speeding helping us to capture information on reasons for speeding that may not have been captured in the limited response questions included in Q9a-9g.. This will provide important information for the development of countermeasures to deter speeding.

Q11a-11f Views on Driving at or near the Speed Limit

Questions 11a through 11f provide the respondents’ general views on how they feel about driving at or near speed limits. They will provide NHTSA with a way to better evaluate driver perceptions of what motivates drivers to obey speed limits and what bothers them about maintaining the speed limit. It includes questions to identify their concerns with safety and fuel efficiency and how obeying the speed limit may enhance these. These provide important information for the development of countermeasures and education programs to deter speeding.

LAW ENFORCMENT

Q12-14 Attitudes on Law Enforcement and Speeding

Questions 12 through 14 provide general information on respondent views on law enforcement and speeding. It is important to have an in-depth understanding of drivers’ views on law enforcement and speeding so that the Agency can determine the levels of law enforcement needed to encourage compliance with laws governing traffic speeds in a manner that will be accepted by the driving public. Question 12 examines their view of the overall importance of speeding law enforcement. Question 13 examines respondent views on the level of effort that law enforcement should make to enforce speeding laws. Question 14 examines respondent experiences with the level of traffic law enforcement on the roads they typically drive. Together, these questions will help NHTSA better understand the relationships between drivers’ views on the importance of speeding law enforcement, the level of effort they think is appropriate for this, and what they actually see occurring on the roads they drive.

Q15-19 Automated Speed Enforcement Devices

Automated speed enforcement (ASE) is a growing technological countermeasure used in many parts of the country to deter speeding and enforce speeding laws. More information is needed to determine how to best deploy these technologies so that the Agency can refine strategies for their use that will maximize both public acceptance and the deterrent effect to reduce speeding behaviors. Question 15 determines respondent awareness of these devices. Question 16 collects information on the locations drivers believe are appropriate for the use of these devices. This is important to help determine locations the public will accept or reject for use of these devices. Question 17 determines if the respondents drive in areas with speed cameras in use and have first-hand experience with them. There are many areas in the country that have not started using these devices yet. It is important to examine the differences between drivers who have experience with these devices and those that do not since drivers with no experience can only answer from a hypothetical perspective, while drivers who have experience with these devises have had concrete experiences with the devices. This can have a direct effect on respondents’ knowledge of and opinions of the devices. Question 18 reveals if respondents have ever been ticketed via a speed camera. This will provide important information on how being ticketed via automated devices may influence drivers’ opinions of the devices. It will also help by providing the start of a baseline measure regarding the extent to which this type of enforcement activity is occurring. Finally, question 19 examines drivers’ views on the purpose of ASE (accident prevention versus revenue generation) so that NHTSA can better understand how this may influence drivers’ acceptance of ASE.

Q20 Attitudes Toward Speeding Countermeasures - General Approaches

Questions 20 collects information on drivers’ level of acceptance of several general speeding countermeasure options, including increasing the frequency of ticketing, increasing fines for speeding tickets, public education on speeding risks, road design changes, and electronic signs on the roadside to give feedback to drivers on their travel speeds. This information is needed to help law enforcement, highway safety organizations, and law makers determine the most appropriate and publically acceptable policies on these issues as they determine their speeding countermeasure options.

Q21-23 Attitudes Toward Speeding Countermeasures – In-Vehicle Devices

Question 21 examines drivers’ acceptance of speed governors (devices installed on vehicles to limit the speed of vehicles) for various types of drivers: truck drivers, young drivers, habitual speeders, and all drivers. Questions 22 and 22a gather data on drivers’ acceptance of possible in-vehicle devices as speeding countermeasures and whether or not they think the devices would prevent them from speeding. Question 23 collects information on how likely the respondent drivers would use certain devices themselves on their own vehicles. Taken together, these questions collect information on general attitudes concerning various technological devices that can be installed on vehicles and whether or not drivers are likely to use them, which is crucial to future policy decisions on these countermeasures, as well as related educational efforts on them.

Q24 Attitudes Toward Speeding Countermeasures – Variable Speed Signs

Question 24 examines drivers’ acceptance of digital variable speed limit signs in various locations (constructions zones and school zones) and conditions (bad weather and congested roadways). These signs are a new technology that is growing in usage across the nation. This information on respondent acceptance of these devices will help highway safety policy makers make decisions on the possible use of these devices as speeding countermeasures in these types of locations and situations.

OTHER RELATED DRIVING INFORMATION

Q25-29 Speed-related Crash Experiences

Questions 25 through 29 examine respondents’ personal experiences with speeding-related vehicle crashes. Question 25 quantifies the number of times they have experienced a speed-related crash and provides a skip to the next section for those that have not been in a speed-related crash in the past five years. Question 26 asks when the most recent speed-related crash occurred and serves to focus the remaining questions in this section on that specific crash. Questions 27 to 29 provide quantifiable measures of crash severity. It is important to gather this information to determine how crash experiences relate to attitudes and behaviors regarding speeding, and how severity of crash and time since crash may mitigate attitudes and behaviors.

Q30-33 Personal Sanctions for Speeding

Questions 30-33 gather information on respondent speeding behavior that has led to being personally sanctioned. Question 30 asks whether or not respondents have been stopped by police for speeding in the past year and skips those that have not to the next section. Question 31 quantifies how many times in the past year this occurred. Questions 32a and 32b collect information on the actual sanction received for the most recent police stop for speeding (ticket or warning). Question 33 gathers information regarding if this most recent speeding sanction caused them to change their speeding behavior. This information is important for a number of reasons. First, it will help NHTSA determine how speeding sanctions influence attitudes and behaviors related to speeding. Second, it will help NHTSA to see if drivers who report regular speeding behavior are getting caught and ticketed. Third, it will show law enforcement tendencies for ticketing or warning drivers who are stopped for speeding, as well as any biases that may be related to this.

Q34-35 Other Risky Behaviors

Two important factors related to speeding fatalities are the use of seat bells and presence of alcohol. These two questions gather some basic information on belt use (Q34) and alcohol use (Q35) by drivers. They provide trend measures and important information on segments of the driving population that may need to be addressed with educational efforts and countermeasures that are specifically tied to these other risky behaviors.

Q36-39 Use of Cell Phone Behaviors

The use of cell phones for phone calls and texting while driving has become a growing problem in recent years. These four questions collect information on driver calls and texts while driving. Question 36 asks if the respondent ever uses a cell phone when driving and skips to the final demographic questions if they do not. Question 37 quantifies how often the respondents talk on their cell phones while driving. Question 38 provides information on how they use their phones when talking (Hand-held, earpiece, etc.). Question 39 gathers information on how often respondents text message while driving. This information is important to help NHTSA understand how often these risky behaviors co-occur and correlate with driver attitudes, behaviors, and experiences related to speeding. The information will be used to inform policies and to develop related countermeasures and educational programs.

D1-D14 Demographic Variables

The demographic data collected in this study serve two primary purposes. The first is to monitor and evaluate the representativeness of the surveyed population as compared to the total target population for the United States. This allows the final data to be weighted by number of adults in the household, age, gender, race, education, and to correct any sampling disproportionalities by ensuring that the demographic profile of the surveyed population reflects the known population parameters of persons aged 16 and older living in the United States.

The second purpose of collecting the demographic data is to be able to examine differences in attitudes and behaviors regarding speeding among different demographic sub groups of the population. This information will allow NHTSA to target education and programs to the highest at-risk groups.

Question D1 will record the respondent's age.

Question D2 will record whether the respondent is employed.

Question D3 will record the respondent's level of education.

Question D4 will record the respondent's marital status.

Questions D5-D6 will record the respondent's ethnic background and race.

Question D7a asks the number of persons living in the household.

Question D7b asks the number of children (persons under 16 years of age) in the household.

Question D8 asks if the household rents or owns their home.

Question D9 will record respondent household income for 2009.

Question D10 will confirm the phone number at which the respondent was reached. The number will be confirmed to double check the sample number loaded is what was dialed. This is important for cell numbers which must be manually dialed. It also assures us that the number we reached has not been forwarded.

Question D10a will request the zip code of their home for a geographical location variable.

Question D10b asks if the respondent lives in a rural, suburban, or urban location. This will only be asked if no zip code is obtained in QD10a.

D11-D14 Multiple Telephone Numbers

These questions are used to weight households on the basis of unequal opportunity for selection based on multiple telephone numbers for a single household. In addition, these questions will determine what portion of the sample lives in a cell phone mostly household.

Question D11 is for the land line sample only. It will assess if there are other phone lines in the household.

Question D12 is for the land line sample only. It will assess if there is a cell phone in the household in addition to the land line on which they are speaking.

Question D13 is to assess if the land line or cell phone is the primary phone used in the household.

Question D14 is to assess how likely they are to answer the land line when it rings under normal circumstances.

C1 Cell Phone Only Sample

Question C1 requests mailing information so that the respondent can receive their incentive check for responding to the survey on their cell phone.

NHTSA Form 1126 Page 9