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December 12, 2006
Report Fact Sheet
How Risky is It? An Assessment of the Relative Risk of Engaging
in Potentially Unsafe Driving Behaviors
Purpose of Current Study
• To investigate the relative risk associated with a variety of potentially-risky behaviors including speeding, distracted driving, aggressive driving, and driving while drowsy.
Methodology
• Researchers analyzed data collected under the previous 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study (100-Car Study). In the 100-Car Study, a sample of 109 drivers in the Washington DC / Northern Virginia region were monitored continuously over a period of 12-13 months using in-vehicle cameras and “black box” technology.
• During the study, 82 crashes, 761 near-crashes, and 8,295 other driving-related incidents were captured. Note: for the purpose of this study a crash was defined as any time a vehicle collided with a fixed object or other vehicle.
• Data from these events as well as from normal “baseline” driving were used to compare the prevalence of specific driver states (e.g., fatigue) and behaviors (e.g., speeding) during crashes, near-crashes, and normal driving, to estimate the relative crash risks associated with specific states and behaviors.
Findings
• The odds of being involved in a crash or near crash were nearly three times as high when drowsy relative to when not drowsy (Odds Ratio = 2.9).
• The odds of being involved in a crash or near crash were nearly three times as high when driving significantly faster than surrounding traffic relative to when driving at appropriate speeds (Odds Ratio = 2.9).
• The odds of being involved in a crash or near crash were more than twice as high when driving aggressively than when not driving aggressively (Odds Ratio = 2.1).
• The odds of being involved in a crash or near crash were nearly twice as high when looking away from the forward roadway for 2 seconds or longer than when attentive to the forward roadway (Odds Ratio = 1.9).
This study was conducted by researchers Sheila G. Klauer, Jeremy Sudweeks, Jeffrey S. Hickman, and Vicki L. Neale, of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study was sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Virginia DOT, and Virginia Tech, and was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. |