Perception and Attitude of the General Population of Saudi Arabia Towards Texting While Driving

Introduction:

Road traffic accidents are the sixth-leading cause of death for children and adolescents, according to WHO's global burden of disease project's 2004 updates1. Using a mobile device while driving increase’s reaction time, making it harder for drivers to maintain proper lane positions, maintain appropriate speeds, and judge safe gaps in traffic2. Texting while driving is a very serious form of driver distraction that is constantly on the rise and contributes significantly to motor vehicle accidents and fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA 2020 #2936) reports that distracted driving results in more than 2841 fatalities and more than 386,900 injuries annually in United States $39.7 billion, or 16% of all economic costs from automobile accidents, were attributable to district driving in 20103. In 2017, 14 % of fatal crashes caused by distracted driving involved cell phone use4.

About 3,092 people were killed in distraction crashes, and 408 (13%) of those crashes involved at least one driver using a cell phone5. A study done by Oviedoet et al in 484 drivers in Australia its has been noted that cell phone usage while driving significantly increases the risk of an accident. (72%) of drivers believe that a crash caused by texting/browsing a cell phone is very likely, while (41%) believe that a voice call is very unlikely (handheld)6. In addition, 78% of accidents in Saudi Arabia were caused by cell phone use while driving7.

Mobile phones have become more important in recent years, and people can use them both positively and negatively. Additionally, different countries have different rates of cell phone use while driving. For example, the United States (US) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) both have higher rates than the United Kingdom (UK) (21%) and Australia (39%)6,8,9.

In order to more accurately predict and prevent texting while driving, more research must be done, even though some factors associated with the decision to text while driving have been clarified. A driving simulation study comparing drivers on the phone with those who had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% found that the performance deficits suffered by the distracted drivers were just as severe as those suffered by the drivers who were under the influence of alcohol10. Unavoidably, texting while driving raises the possibility of driver distraction, performance impairment, and collisions. Evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice can help us identify a way to reduce the prevalence of cell phone use while driving. Hence this study was carried out with an objective of assessing the attitude and perception towards texting while driving among general population in Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Method:

This cross-sectional community based descriptive study was carried out among general population of Saudi Arabia from March 2022- May 2022. Taking the prevalence of texting of driving as 75.05% from Randah et al11, with 95% confidence interval and 2.5% relative error the sample size was calculated to be 1200. With non response rate of 10%, the final sample size was calculated as 1320. The pretested questionnaire was distributed online via multiple social media platforms. The data collection being online, sample was collected using convenience sampling. Participants aged 18-35 years receiving the online questionnaire were asked to fill the questionnaire. Participants aged below 18 years and more than 40 years were excluded from the study. Incomplete responses and those who did not give the consent were excluded from the study. Before the start of the study, a pilot study was carried out among 50 participants who were sent questionnaire online randomly.

The Cronnachs alpha was calculated was 0.7 which provides signifies the reliability of the questionnaire used. The questionnaire included a total of 23 questions with first section on demographic details and second section looked at mobile device usage patterns. Additionally, they were asked to list their preferred means of communication, such as talking on the phone, texting, emailing, map directions, internet sites and social messaging boards via a mobile device. The study revealed that in order to further stratify risk, it was necessary to ask questions about when the activities were performed in relation to vehicular motion or speed (motion, at standstill or both) in addition to questions addressing frequency of the activity over the previous driving (e.g. every time, most of the time, etc.). The survey also asked about people's dependence on mobile devices, such as whether they thought they were addicted to them and whether they used them to talk or text while driving.

Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 software. Frequency and percentage were used to describe qualitative variables. The association between the frequencies of each socio-demographic characteristic and the levels of awareness, and attitude was performed using cross tabulation. Pearson chi-squared test, a p-value ≤ 0.05 was used to report the statistical significance.

Ethical clearance

Before answering the questionnaire, participants provided informed consent. There are no sensitive or private questions in the questionnaire, and their identities are kept strictly confidential. In addition, an IRB approval was taken from the IRB committee, Majmaah University with the reference no. MUREC-Jan 11/COM-2022/20.2 dated 15.1.2022

Results:

Total 1452 participants were included in this study. Majority of the participants (44.9%) were from the age of 21-25 years, followed by 25.9% aged <=20. About one third of the participants had years of driving experience 6-10 years followed by 372 (25.6%) had 11-15 years, 362 (24.9%) had <=5 years and 258 (17.8%) had >15 shown in table 1. Among total 1452 participants 1108 (76.3%) answered yes texting while driving whereas 344 (23.7%) answered no texting while driving shown in Figure 1.

Most of the participants (46.2%) text sometimes while driving whereas only 14.4% text rarely while driving shown in table 1. 64 (5.8%) participants text while in the motion, 184 (16.6%) at standstill and 860 (77.6%) at both time text while driving.

About quarter of participants text only in an emergency and nearly half of participants text in emergency and other circumstances. 444 (40.1%) text while alone in the car, 64 (5.8%) text with other in the car and 600 (54.2%) text while alone or with other in the car.

Most of them (73.3%) participants accept that their ability to drive was negatively affected, while very few (1.4%) accept their driving skill were neutral to drive. Among 1108 participants 1000 (90.3%) were think dangerous to text while you drive. 732 (66.1%) participants aware of current local laws and 376 (33.9%) were not aware of local laws pertaining to texting while driving. 666 (60.1%) participants accept that adaption of laws making it illegal abstain from texting while driving. (Table 1)

Total 460 (31.7%) Participants of different age group had 6-10 years followed by 372 (25.6%) had 11-15 years, 362 (24.9%) had <=5 years and 258 (17.8%) had >15 years of experience shows significant association between texting while driving with p value <0.001. 1108 (76.3%) answered yes and (23.7%) answered no at different age group texting while driving also shown the significant association shown in table 2. Most likely to text while alone and with other in the car were significant association with p value <0.001. The relationship between texting while driving and the risk of accidents. 512 (46.2%) was answered sometimes, 260 (23.5%) answered most of the time 176 (15.9%) text every time while driving and 160 (14.4%) text rarely while driving so, there is a significant association between texting while driving and accident with p-value less than 0.05 as shown in table 3.

Discussion:

One of the many types of driver distraction is reading or sending texts while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers become distracted and take their eyes off the road when they are texting, making it risky to text and drive. At a speed of 55 mph, driving for 5 seconds while texting is thought to be the minimum amount of time that a driver's attention is diverted from the road. This is equivalent to about a football's worth of distance. Using a cell phone to make or receive calls, using a hand-held mobile device to browse the internet or send and receive emails, using maps and navigation systems, using the car stereo, conversing with passengers, taking care of personal hygiene, eating, and drinking are all examples of additional forms of driver distraction 12.

In total, 1452 participants participated in the study, of whom 1108 (76.3%) said they texted while driving and 344 (23.7%) said they didn't. Using a cellphone while driving is more common in developed countries such as United states and European countries than the developing countries8. Although there are some nations with a lower prevalence, none of the Gulf states are among those with a prevalence below 50% in the majority of countries around the world 8,9,13.

In a cross-sectional study carried out in Queensland, reported that 484 drivers had responded to the questionnaire. According to age group, 50.2% of people were between the ages of 26 and 65, and 49.8% were between the ages of 17 and 25 6. About 45% of drivers interviewed had located or answered the phone call, while 34% of respondents have texted while driving. In contrast, our study participants had relatively high percentage (89%) and 48% of respondents have reported to be answered a call or texted while driving respectively.

About 24.1% of participants in a study by Bergmark et al 14 reported writing text messages while driving slowly or in stop-and-go traffic. Additionally, reading texts while driving was more prevalent; 71.5% of respondents admitted to doing so (29.% rarely, 27.2% occasionally, 13.2 frequently, and 2.2% always). 12.7% of people read text messages as opposed to writing them, 15.6% do so at slow speeds, and 10.1% are stuck in stop-and-go traffic. Similar to the observation of this study.

According to Delgado M et al15, 97% of teenagers are aware that texting while driving is dangerous. However, they continue to talk on their cell phones, text, and use social media apps while driving. Similar findings were reported by Parr et al16.

Our study has some limitations. First, only males between 18 to 40 years were included in the study which limits the generalizability of our work. Second, a self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct the study as an online survey which can be source of selection bias.

Conclusion and recommendations :

The vast majority of participants were familiar with the rules governing road safety. The new research backs up previous claims that texting affects how well a driver performs in a driving simulator. Driving while on a cell phone is a widespread issue throughout the country, with the central region having the highest prevalence. This is primarily for calling and reading/writing messages, and it is strongly associated with an increased risk of accidents. The current study also demonstrates that the dangers of texting while driving are actually greater for older drivers who are experienced texters.

Based on the findings of our study, we need to steer up the awareness efforts that highlight the dangers of using a phone while driving. Community campaigns emphasizing technology-related advice during these campaigns, such as turning off cellular data, using Bluetooth, using newer handsfree driving newer android applications like TXT shield and AT&T drivemode or putting their phones in airplane mode while driving. The general population should also be discouraged from using cell phones while driving by tough law enforcement and the penalties imposed on those who break the law.

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