Survey: More motorists using cell phones, worried about drinking and driving

From FrederickNewsPost.com:

Kenneth Beck is concerned about drivers increasingly using cell phones.
For seven years, Beck has been polling more than 800 Maryland drivers about their traffic safety concerns, beliefs and behaviors.

The University of Maryland Department of Public and Community Health professor uses his data along with crash statistics and citation figures to coordinate traffic safety programs.

In 2003, about 50 percent of motorists said they used a cell phone while driving. Beck said his most recent results reveal that close to 65 percent do so now.

"I actually tried to dial my cell phone in traffic once," Beck said in a phone interview. "I couldn't do it."

Now that people can communicate everywhere, Beck said he is concerned drivers face more distractions and are less able to focus on the road.

"Seven Years of Surveillance: A report on selected trends of reported behaviors, concerns and beliefs of Maryland drivers" was released in August, revealing the collected results of Beck's random-digit telephone surveys.

"Looking at seven years of data, we've found that certain kinds of trends have been significant," Beck wrote in the report.

His four main areas study are alcohol-impaired driving, seat belt use, distracted and drowsy driving, and speeding and aggressive driving.

Concerns about drinking and driving remain at the top of the list, the study said. On average, 90 percent of participants say impaired driving is critical.

Not much has changed over the years, except perceptions of risk, Beck said.

When asked about the likelihood of being caught by the police while drinking and driving, people reported a decreased tendency to perform the act, but an increase in their fear of being arrested.

The Maryland Highway Safety Office and the Maryland Department of Transportation report a decline in drunk driving fatalities over the past two or three years. Beck is hesitant to say whether that downward trend will be sustained.

"Even though the trend is going in the right direction, it's still below what I think should be the threshold," he said.

Fewer than one-third of surveyed drivers think they would be arrested for drinking and driving. Beck said the numbers should range closer to 40 percent to 50 percent and upward, ensuring public awareness of the problem.

Carroll County Health Department's Susan Solo, traffic safety coordinator for the Frederick and Carroll county areas, said increased campaigns, supported by the state highway administration, will show that law enforcement is serious about addressing impaired driving.

To reduce drunken driving and combative behavior on the road, Frederick County law enforcement is performing more concentrated DUI patrols, as well as the Smooth Operator campaign, a public safety initiative to provide solutions to aggressive driving.

The study, funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office, may be discontinued next year because of funding cuts.

Beck said he would like to continue the study, as it is available to researchers both within and outside of the University of Maryland.

The state also wants to sustain the survey, "to hear from the residents and gain the feedback that is needed to guide programming," Solo said.