U.S. Department
`of Transportation
`National Highway
`Traffic Safety
`Administration
`
` Research Note
`
`DOT HS 809 293
`
`July 2001
`
`Passenger Vehicle Driver Cell Phone Use
`Results from the Fall 2000 National Occupant Protection Use Survey
`
`by Dennis Utter
`
`Background
`
`Driver distraction as a cause of motor vehicle traffic
`crashes has become an increasingly important issue.
`A 1996 study1 published by the National Highway Traffic
`Safety Administration found that driver distraction in all
`its various forms probably contributes to between 20
`and 30 percent of all crashes. In 1999, data from the
`Fatality Analysis Reporting System revealed that driver
`distraction was a contributing factor in 11 percent of
`fatal crashes involving 4,462 fatalities. Additionally, the
`NASS General Estimates System estimated that
`various forms of driver distraction contributed to
`between 25 and 30 percent of injury and property-
`damage-only crashes.
`
`Driver distraction and inattention can come from factors
`inside and outside of the vehicle. Observing passing
`scenery and/or persons outside of the vehicle can
`distract a driver from controlling the vehicle. Inside a
`vehicle a driver can be distracted by discussions with
`other vehicle occupants, eating or drinking, or attending
`to any of the numerous electronic devices found in the
`vehicle, primarily the radio or other sound system
`equipment. As more vehicles become equipped with
`other electronic devices such as navigational aids, the
`potential for driver distraction will increase.
`
`Another source of potential driver distraction that has
`received much recent attention is the use of cell
`phones. The use of cell phones has been variously
`reported as contributing to the cause of a significant
`number of traffic crashes. Many states and localities
`have considered restricting cell phone use in moving
`vehicles within their jurisdictions. Even the use of cell
`phones with the aid of “hands-free” devices can distract
`drivers, although the use of such equipment does
`permit the driver to keep both hands on the steering
`wheel.
`
`The actual contribution of cell phone use as a
`
`1
`
`Wang J-S, Knipling RR, and Goodman MJ (Presented
`August 1996). The Role of Driver Inattention in Crashes; New
`statistics form the 1995 Crashworthiness Data System, Proceedings
`of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Advancement
`of Automotive Medicine, October 7-9, 1996, Vacouver, British
`Columbia.
`
`contributing factor or cause of a motor vehicle crash is
`difficult to quantify. The mere presence of a cell phone
`in a vehicle does not indicate that it was in use just
`prior to a crash or that its use contributed to the cause
`of the crash. Also, because of potential liability issues,
`drivers who were using a cell phone prior to a crash are
`not likely to report that fact to an investigating police
`officer.
`
`Quantifying the actual use of cell phones by motor
`vehicle drivers while they are driving is difficult.
`Anecdotally, most people can cite numerous instances
`where they were driving and observed someone using a
`cell phone and, often, driving slow or erratically. The
`2000 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, a
`telephone survey conducted by the National Highway
`Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from November
`2000 to January 2001 and whose results will be
`published later this year, estimated that 54 percent of
`drivers “usually” have some type of wireless phone in
`their vehicle with them. Fifty-five percent of these
`drivers report that their phone is on during “all” or “most”
`of their trips and 73 percent reported using their phone
`while driving.
`
`These estimates, however, are not an indication of how
`many drivers are actually using their cell phone at any
`specified time. To obtain such an estimate, actual cell
`phone use by drivers while they are in the act of driving
`would need to be observed. NHTSA concluded that
`such observations could be made through its National
`Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) to obtain
`National estimates of driver cell phone use. In the
`NOPUS, trained data collectors obtain shoulder belt
`use data through observation of motor vehicle
`occupants and National shoulder belt use rates are
`estimated. NOPUS data collection protocols were
`expanded to include observation of driver hand-held cell
`phone use, and such information was collected during
`the NOPUS conducted during October and November
`2000.
`
`Results
`
`Tables 1 - 4 present National estimates of passenger
`vehicle driver hand-held cell phone use for all
`passenger vehicles and by type of passenger vehicle -
`passenger cars, vans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs),
`
`National Center for Statistics and Analysis
`
`400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590
`
`Exhibit 2121 Page 1
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`IV Exhibit 2121
`FedEx v. IV, Case IPR2017-02030
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`

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`and pickup trucks (pickups). Table 1 also shows use
`by geographic Region. Table 2 shows use by Day-of-
`Week and Time-of-Day. Table 3 shows use by Type of
`Area. Table 4 shows use by selected driver
`characteristics.
`
`Estimates and Sampling Error
`
`Each estimate in the tables is shown with its
`corresponding sampling error (expressed in percentage
`points) in parentheses. Because estimates from the
`NOPUS are based on a sample, they are statistically
`weighted according to the sample design and are
`subject to sampling error. Adding and subtracting
`twice the sampling error from the corresponding
`estimate will produce an approximate 95 percent
`confidence interval for the estimate. This means that
`one can be 95 percent confident that the true use rate
`lies within this interval.
`
`Findings
`
`Nationally, overall hand-held cell phone use by
`drivers of passenger vehicles (Table 1) was estimated at
`3 percent. This means that at any given time during
`daylight hours, about 3 percent of drivers of
`passenger cars, vans, SUVs, and pickups are
`actively using a cell phone. Assuming that the 200
`million registered passenger vehicles are driven on
`public roads for an average of one hour during daylight
`hours, there are an average of about 16.7 million
`passenger vehicles on the roads during any given
`daylight hour; in turn, this translates into approximately
`one-half million drivers using cell phones at any given
`time. The 2000 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey
`also estimated that 73 percent of drivers who said they
`usually have a wireless phone in their vehicle with them
`use a hand-held cell phone and an additional 22 percent
`use “hands-free” equipment. Extrapolating this result to
`the NOPUS hand-held cell phone observations results
`in an additional 0.9 percent of drivers using “hands-free”
`cell phones for a total of 3.9 percent (or more than
`600,000) of drivers actively using cell phones at any one
`time.
`
`Table 1 also shows that the highest National use rates
`were observed for drivers of vans and sport utility
`vehicles (SUVs). Drivers of vans and SUVs also had
`
`the highest use rates in the Midwest, South and West.
`In the Northeast, use rates for passenger car drivers
`and for drivers of vans and SUVs were essentially the
`same (3.0 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively). The
`lowest overall National use rate was observed for drivers
`of pickup trucks. However, pickup truck driver use was
`higher than passenger car driver use in the Midwest and
`West.
`
`Cell phone use by drivers was higher on weekdays than
`on weekends (Table 2). On weekends, the use rate for
`drivers of pickups exceeded the use rates for drivers of
`passenger cars and drivers of vans and SUVs. On
`weekdays, use rates by drivers of vans and SUVs was
`higher than that of drivers of other vehicles. The highest
`use rate observed during this survey (8 percent) was by
`drivers of vans and SUVs during non-rush hours. Use
`rates by drivers of all types of vehicles were almost
`twice as high during non-rush hours as during rush
`hours.
`
`From Table 3, it can be seen that overall cell phone use
`rates were slightly higher in suburban areas than in
`rural areas (3.4 percent compared to 3 percent). Again,
`use rates by drivers of vans and SUVs were the highest
`in all areas. Also, use rates by drivers of pickups
`continued to be lower than for other vehicles, except in
`rural areas. In rural areas they were higher than the
`use rate of passenger car drivers (3.2 percent compared
`to 1.9 percent).
`
`Table 4 shows some differences in use rates by driver
`characteristics. Female drivers were observed using a
`cell phone more frequently than male drivers. This was
`especially true for female drivers of vans and SUVs,
`where use rates were almost twice as high as male
`drivers (6.1 percent compared to 3.2 percent). There
`was little difference in cell phone use by drivers in the
`Young Adult or Adult age groups. However, use by
`Seniors was much less. Finally, use by drivers
`classified as “White” was higher than use by Black
`drivers or drivers of other races (3.7 percent compared
`to 2.3 and 1.7 percent, respectively).
`
`Table 1
`Observed Driver Cell Phone Use Rates, by Vehicle Type
`NATIONAL OCCUPANT PROTECTION USE SURVEY, Controlled Intersection Study, Fall 2000
`(Estimates and Sampling Errors in Percentages)
`
`Vehicle Type
`
`Overall
`
`Northeast
`
`All Passenger Vehicles
`
`3.0 (0.5)
`
`2.9 (1.2)
`
`Midwest
`
`3.5 (1.1)
`
`South
`
`3.5 (0.9)
`
`West
`
`2.2 (0.7)
`
`Region
`
`National Center for Statistics and Analysis
`
`400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590
`
`Exhibit 2121 Page 2
`
`

`

` Passenger Cars
`
` Vans and SUVs
`
` Pickups
`
`2.6 (0.5)
`
`4.8 (1.0)
`
`1.9 (0.6)
`
`3.0 (1.0)
`
`2.9 (2.2)
`
`0.6 (0.6)
`
`2.2 (0.8)
`
`5.9 (2.5)
`
`3.6 (2.7)
`
`3.2 (1.0)
`
`6.6 (2.1)
`
`1.2 (0.6)
`
`2.0 (0.9)
`
`3.0 (1.4)
`
`2.3 (1.2)
`
`Table 2
`Observed Driver Cell Phone Use Rates by Vehicle Type, Day-of-Week and Time-of-Day
`NATIONAL OCCUPANT PROTECTION USE SURVEY, Controlled Intersection Study, Fall 2000
`(Estimates and Sampling Errors in Percentages)
`Day-of-Week
`
`Time-of-Day
`
`Vehicle Type
`
`All Passenger Vehicles
`
` Passenger Car
`
` Vans and SUVs
`
` Pickups
`
`Overall
`
`3.0 (0.5)
`
`2.6 (0.5)
`
`4.8 (1.0)
`
`1.9 (0.6)
`
`Weekday1
`
`Weekend
`
`Rush Hour2
`
`3.2 (0.6)
`
`2.8 (0.6)
`
`5.8 (1.5)
`
`1.7 (0.6)
`
`2.2 (0.4)
`
`2.0 (0.8)
`
`1.3 (0.7)
`
`2.8 (1.9)
`
`2.4 (0.5)
`
`2.1 (0.5)
`
`4.7 (1.5)
`
`1.1 (0.5)
`
`Non-Rush
`Hour
`
`4.7 (0.9)
`
`4.0 (0.9)
`
`8.0 (2.5)
`
`2.8 (1.6)
`
`1Weekday is defined as Monday - Friday
`2Rush Hour is defined as the hours from 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. on Weekdays.
`
`Table 3
`Observed Driver Cell Phone Use Rates by Vehicle Type and Type of Area
`NATIONAL OCCUPANT PROTECTION USE SURVEY
` Controlled Intersection Study, Fall 2000
`(Estimates and Sampling Errors in Percentages)
`Type of Area
`
`Vehicle Type
`
`Overall
`
`Urban
`
`Suburban
`
`3.4 (0.8)
`
`Rural
`
`3.0 (0.8)
`
`All Passenger Vehicles
`
` Passenger Car
`
` Vans and SUVs
`
` Pickups
`
`3.0 (0.5)
`
`2.6 (0.5)
`
`4.8 (1.0)
`
`1.9 (0.6)
`
`2.4 (0.7)
`
`2.5 (0.8)
`
`2.8 (1.3)
`
`1.9 (1.4)
`
`3.0 (0.7)
`
`5.6 (1.7)
`
`1.0 (0.4)
`
`1.9 (0.9)
`
`7.1 (2.4)
`
`3.2 (1.5)
`
`Table 4
`Observed Driver Cell Phone Use Rates by Vehicle Type and Driver Characteristics (Sex, Age, Race)
`NATIONAL OCCUPANT PROTECTION USE SURVEY
` Controlled Intersection Study, Fall 2000
`(Estimates and Sampling Errors in Percentages)
` Driver Characteristics
`
`Vehicle Type
`
`Sex
`
`Age Group1
`
`Male
`
`Female
`
`Young
`Adult
`
`Adult
`
`Senior White
`
`Race
`
`Black
`
`Other
`
`All Passenger Vehicles
`
`2.7 (0.5)
`
`3.4 (0.6)
`
`3.1 (0.8)
`
`3.2 (0.5)
`
`1.4 (0.4)
`
`3.7 (0.8)
`
`2.3 (0.9)
`
`1.7 (0.7)
`
` Passenger Car
`
`2.5 (1.0)
`
`2.8 (0.6)
`
`2.8 (0.8)
`
`2.8 (0.6)
`
`1.2 (0.5)
`
`3.7 (0.9)
`
`1.3 (0.7)
`
`1.2 (0.7)
`
` Vans and SUVs
`
`3.2 (0.8)
`
`6.1 (1.7)
`
`5.7 (2.6)
`
`5.1 (1.2)
`
`4.6 (3.2)
`
`5.4 (1.1)
`
`3.7 (2.2)
`
`3.0 (2.9)
`
`National Center for Statistics and Analysis
`
`400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590
`
`Exhibit 2121 Page 3
`
`

`

` Pickups
`
`2.5 (0.8) 1.0 (0.4) 1.0 (0.7)
`
`3.0 (1.1)
`
`0.7 (0.5)
`
`1.8 (0.6)
`
`0.5 (0.6)
`
`9.8 (6.7)
`
`1Age Groups are defined to include these approximate Ages: Young Adult - Ages 16-24;
`Adult - Ages 24 - 69; and, Senior - Ages 70 and over
`
`Survey Design
`
`NHTSA began conducting National Occupant
`Protection Use Surveys (Full NOPUS) in the Fall of
`1994 to obtain nationwide estimates of shoulder belt
`use and of characteristics of their users. The Full
`NOPUS, which was also conducted in the Fall of
`1996 and the Fall of 1998, is composed of two
`separate studies: the Moving Traffic Study, which
`provides information on overall shoulder belt use; and
`the Controlled Intersection Study, which provides
`detailed information about shoulder belt use by
`vehicle type, characteristics of the belt users and
`child restraint use. This Research Note presents
`results based on the Controlled Intersection Study
`conducted in the Fall (October - November) 2000.
`
`The Full NOPUS was designed as a multi-stage
`probability sample to ensure that the results would
`represent occupant protection use in the country as a
`whole. In the first stage, counties were grouped by
`region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West), level of
`urbanization (metropolitan or not), and level of safety
`belt use (high, medium, or low). Fifty counties or
`groups of counties (called primary sampling units or
`PSUs) were selected, within the resulting strata,
`based on the vehicle miles of travel. In the next
`stage, within each PSU a probability sample of
`roadways was selected from two
`
`categories: major roads and local roads.
`Observational sites – an exit ramp on an interstate
`highway, an intersection controlled by a stop sign or
`stop light, or an uncontrolled intersection – were
`identified on each of the sampled roadways. The
`roadway sample for the Full NOPUS Moving Traffic
`Study conducted in Fall 2000 was 2,063 sites. The
`observation sites for the Controlled Intersection Study
`are those sites from the Moving Traffic Study
`controlled by a stop sign or stop light. In the Fall
`2000 Controlled Intersection Study, observations were
`conducted at 640 sites.
`
`Data Collection
`
`Data collection for the Controlled Intersection Study
`consists of observing shoulder belt use in passenger
`motor vehicles. Observers were stationed for 45
`minutes at each observational site. Shoulder belt use
`and other demographic information (age group, sex,
`and race) were obtained for drivers and passengers in
`passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, minivans, and
`sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Additionally, the driver’s
`use of a cell phone at the time of observation was
`also recorded. Only use of hand-held cell phones
`was included. Commercial and emergency vehicles
`were excluded. Every day of the week and all
`daylight hours (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) were covered.
`
`For additional copies of this research note, please call 202.366.4198 or fax your request to 202.366.7078. For questions
`regarding the data reported in this research, contact Dennis Utter [202.366.5351] of the National Center for Statistics and
`Analysis. This research note and other general information on highway traffic safety may be accessed by Internet users at
`http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa.
`
`U.S. Department
`of Transportation
`National Highway
`Traffic Safety
`Administration
`400 Seventh Street, S.W. , NRD-31
`Washington, D.C. 20590
`
`Exhibit 2121 Page 4
`
`