UW study observes 40,000 drivers on city streets: 1 in 16 was on the phone

A new study at the University of Washington found one driver in 16, or about 6 percent, uses a handheld cellphone while driving in Seattle. And during rush hour it increased to one driver in 13.

Philip Howard, a UW associate professor of communication, directed a team of undergraduates who observed more than 2,460 drivers using cellphones from Feb. 12 to 28. Each driver had one hand on the wheel and a mobile phone in the other. Some drivers were making calls; others were texting or otherwise using their phones.

Cellphone use peaked on Thursdays, Fridays and during afternoon rush hour.

For the study, 90 students stood at 47 randomly selected major and minor intersections around the city, bounded by 85th Street in the north and Jackson Street in the south. No highways were included.

The observers noted phone use, gender and whether the driver looked 25 years old or younger.

The students chose random times between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. In all, they observed 39,787 drivers.

Fifty-five percent of drivers using mobile phones were male, 45 percent female. Some 30 percent of drivers using phones appeared to be under 25, and in that group, the percentages reversed: females outnumbered males 57 percent to 43 percent.

The state's current cellphone/texting law, passed in 2007, makes use of a handheld cellphone while driving a secondary offense. Drivers can't be stopped just for using a cellphone while at the wheel, but they can be cited if stopped for another reason.

Under a bill approved by the state Senate on Feb. 5, and by the state House on Thursday, using a handheld mobile phone for talking or texting while driving would be a primary offense. A bill approved in the House last week would have made such use of a handheld phone a primary offense only for teens, but the House agreed to the Senate version of the bill on Thursday.

Washington is one of six states and the District of Columbia to have passed laws regulating cellphone use while driving, but is the only state that considers cellphone use without a hands-free device a secondary offense.

"We wanted to do this study because there has been a lot of talk about driver safety and mobile-phone use," said Howard. "We always notice drivers around us who are talking on the phone and not paying attention to the road. We wanted to find out how many people were doing just that."

Many studies document ways cellphones distract drivers, but there have been comparatively few scientific studies to estimate the number of drivers using phones, according to Howard.

"It is hard to say if laws on cellphone driving have had much impact so far," said Edwin Ortiz, a senior history major who is one of the student researchers. "There are a lot more mobile-phone users now than in 2006, and a lot more media attention to accidents caused by cellphone drivers, but the rate of use is still high."

The study also found that drivers who used a cellphone while driving were almost always alone in the vehicle and, during the period of the study, students observed 23 taxi drivers, two police officers, two truck drivers, one airport shuttle driver and one Metro bus driver riding and talking on their cellphones. Ten drivers were smoking while talking on their phones, the study found.

Students also found drivers eating, putting on makeup, and driving with pets on their laps.

At the end of the study, the 90 students participating were asked about their own use of cellphones. More than two-thirds admitted they drove and used cellphones regularly.