TY - JOUR
T1 - State laws restricting driver use of mobile communications devices
T2 - Distracted-driving provisions, 19922010
AU - Ibrahim, Jennifer K.
AU - Anderson, Evan D.
AU - Burris, Scott C.
AU - Wagenaar, Alexander C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Program Office for Public Health Law Research. We would also like to acknowledge Ave Craig and Rebekah Horowitz for their assistance collecting and coding the data.
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - Background: State laws limiting the use of mobile communications devices (MCDs) by drivers are being enacted at an accelerating pace. Public health law research is needed to test various legislative models and guide future legal innovation. Purpose: To define the current state of the law, facilitate new multi-state evaluations, and demonstrate the utility of systematic, scientific legal research methods to improve public health services research. Methods: Westlaw and LexisNexis were used to create a 50-state, open-source data set of laws restricting the use of any form of MCD while operating a motor vehicle that were in effect between January 1, 1992, and November 1, 2010. Using an iterative process, the search protocol included the following terms: cellphone, cell phone, cellular phone, wireless telephone, mobile telephone, text, hands-free, cell! and text! The text and citations of each law were collected and coded across 22 variables, and a protocol and code book were developed to facilitate future public use of the data set. Results: Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have at least one form of restriction on the use of MCDs in effect. The laws vary in the types of communication activities and categories of driver regulated, as well as enforcement mechanisms and punishments. No state completely bans use of MCDs by all drivers. Conclusions: State distracted-driving policy is diverging from evidence on the risks of MCD use by drivers. An updatable data set of laws is now available to researchers conducting multistate evaluations of the impact of laws regulating MCDs by drivers. If this data set is shown to be useful for this public health problem, similar rigorously developed and regularly updated data sets might be developed for other public health issues that are subject to legislative interventions.
AB - Background: State laws limiting the use of mobile communications devices (MCDs) by drivers are being enacted at an accelerating pace. Public health law research is needed to test various legislative models and guide future legal innovation. Purpose: To define the current state of the law, facilitate new multi-state evaluations, and demonstrate the utility of systematic, scientific legal research methods to improve public health services research. Methods: Westlaw and LexisNexis were used to create a 50-state, open-source data set of laws restricting the use of any form of MCD while operating a motor vehicle that were in effect between January 1, 1992, and November 1, 2010. Using an iterative process, the search protocol included the following terms: cellphone, cell phone, cellular phone, wireless telephone, mobile telephone, text, hands-free, cell! and text! The text and citations of each law were collected and coded across 22 variables, and a protocol and code book were developed to facilitate future public use of the data set. Results: Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have at least one form of restriction on the use of MCDs in effect. The laws vary in the types of communication activities and categories of driver regulated, as well as enforcement mechanisms and punishments. No state completely bans use of MCDs by all drivers. Conclusions: State distracted-driving policy is diverging from evidence on the risks of MCD use by drivers. An updatable data set of laws is now available to researchers conducting multistate evaluations of the impact of laws regulating MCDs by drivers. If this data set is shown to be useful for this public health problem, similar rigorously developed and regularly updated data sets might be developed for other public health issues that are subject to legislative interventions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.02.024
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.02.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 21565659
AN - SCOPUS:79955827160
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 40
SP - 659
EP - 665
JO - American journal of preventive medicine
JF - American journal of preventive medicine
IS - 6
ER -