Teens and Distracted DrivingTexting, talking and other uses of the cell phone behind the wheel

November 16, 2009

Mary Madden, Senior Research SpecialistAmanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist

View Online:http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Teens-and-Distracted-Driving.aspx

Pew Internet & American Life ProjectAn initiative of the Pew Research Center1615 L St., NW – Suite 700Washington, D.C. 20036202-419-4500 | pewinternet.org

Overview

• 75%ofallAmericanteensages12-17ownacellphone,and66%usetheirphonestosendorreceivetextmessages.

• Olderteensaremorelikelythanyoungerteenstohavecellphonesandusetextmes-saging;82%ofteensages16-17haveacellphoneand76%ofthatcohortarecelltexters.

• Oneinthree(34%)textingteensages16-17saytheyhavetextedwhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto26%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.

• Half(52%)ofcell-owningteensages16-17saytheyhavetalkedonacellphonewhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto43%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.

• 48%ofallteensages12-17saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.

• 40%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger.

IntroductionAsearlyas2006,andwellbeforetextinghadbecomemainstreamintheU.S.,thePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectreportedthatmorethanaquarterofadultcellphoneownersfelttheircellphonehadatsomepointcompromisedtheirdrivingability.Inthesurvey,28%admittedtheysometimesdidnotdriveassafelyastheyshouldwhileusingtheirmobiledevices.1

Overtime,cellphoneshavebecomeincreasinglyimportantfixturesinAmericans’livesandpublicconcernovertheirusewhiledrivinghasgrown.2Atthetimeofthe2006survey,just35%ofadultcellphoneownerssaidtheyusedthetextmessagingfeatureontheirphones.ByApril2009,theuseoftextmessagingbycellphoneownershadnearlydoubledto65%.3

SeveralstatesincludingCalifornia,ConnecticutandOregonhavealreadypassedlawstobanalltextingortalkingwithahandheldphonewhiledriving,andtheSenateisnowconsideringabill

1LeeRainieandScottKeeter,“Americansandtheircellphones,”PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject,April3,2006.Availableat:http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/Americans-and-their-cell-phones.aspx

2MarjorieConnelly,“ManyinU.S.WantTextingattheWheeltoBeIllegal,”The New York Times,November1,2009.Availableat:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02textingside.html

3JohnHorrigan,“WirelessInternetUse,”PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject,July22,2009.Availableat:http://www.pewin-ternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspxAdditionalnote:Boththe2006and2009surveysweredualframe,interviewingrespondentsvialandlinesandcellphones.

page2

thatwouldprovidefederalfundingtostatesthatenactsimilarlaws.4InSeptember2009U.S.TransportationSecretaryRayLaHoodconvenedpolicymakers,safetyadvocates,lawenforce-mentrepresentativesandacademicstoaddresstheriskoftext-messagingandother“distracteddriving”behavior.Attheconclusionofthesummit,SecretaryLaHoodannouncedanexecutiveorderfromPresidentObamathatforbidsfederalworkersfromtextingwhiledrivinggovernmentvehiclesortheirownvehicleswhileonthejob.5

The highest incidence of distracted driving occurs in the under-20 age group

AccordingtothelatestresearchfromtheNationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration,in2008alone,therewere5,870fatalitiesandanestimated515,000peoplewereinjuredinpolice-reportedcrashesinwhichatleastoneformofdriverdistractionwasreported.Distractionsamongyoungdriversareofparticularconcern,asthehighestincidenceofdistracteddrivingoccursintheunder-20agegroup.6

NewresearchreleasedinJuly2009bytheVirginiaTechTransportationInstitute(VTTI)examinesavarietyoftasksthatdrawdrivers’eyesawayfromtheroadwayandsuggeststhattextmessag-ingonacellphoneisassociatedwiththehighestriskamongallcellphone-relatedtasksob-servedamongdrivers.7TheVTTIhasalsonotedthatteendriversaregenerallyatamuchhighercrashriskwhencomparedtootherdrivers,butthereisagapinunderstandingtowhatextentspecificbehaviorsandrelativelackofdrivingexperiencemaycontributetothiselevatedrisk.An18-monthstudyofnewly-licensedteendriversiscurrentlyunderwaytofurtherexaminethesefactors.8

ResearchconductedattheUniversityofUtah’sAppliedCognitionLaboratoryoverthepastdecadefurtherproblematizescellphoneuseinthecarandsuggeststhattalkingonacellphonewhiledrivingimpairsdrivingabilityinwaysthatconversingwithapersoninthecardoesnot.9Formoreinformationonthebodyofresearcharounddistracteddriving,pleaseseetheRe-sourcessectionattheendofthisreport.

4KimGeiger,“SupportinSenateforcellphonedrivingban,”Los Angeles Times,October14,2009.Availableat:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-distracted-driving14-2009oct14,0,4546212.story

5MichaelDresser,“Don’ttextwhiledriving,ObamaordersU.S.workers,”The Baltimore Sun,October2,2009.Availableat:http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-md.cm.text02oct02,0,6244619.story

6DebraAscone,TonjaLindsey,andCherianVarghese,“AnExaminationofDriverDistractionasRecordedinNHTSADatabases,”DataReportingandInformationDivision,NationalCenterforStatisticsandAnalysis,NHTSA,September2009.Availableat:http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

7SherriBox,“NewdatafromVirginiaTechTransportationInstituteprovidesinsightintocellphoneuseanddrivingdistraction,”VTTI,July29,2009.Availableat:http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=571

8VTTIIntheNews:http://www.vtti.vt.edu/news.html

9SeeStrayer,D.L.andJohnston,W.A.,(2001),Strayer,D.L.Drews,F.A.,andCrouch,D.J.(2003)andDrews,F.A.,Pasupathi,M.andStrayer,D.L.(2008)Thefindingsfromthesestudiesassertthattalkingonacellphonewhiledrivingresultsin“inattentionblindness,”slowerreactiontimesandotherimpairmentsofdrivingskillsthataresimilartodrivingwhileintoxicated.Forthesepapersandothers,seehttp://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/

page3

Teens who text and talk while drivingOverthesummerof2009,thePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectcon-ductedasurveyof800teensages12-17askingabouttheirexperienceswithcellphoneuseincars.Alloftheteensinoursurveywereaskedabouttheirexperiencesaspassengers,andiftheywere16orolderandhaveacellphone,theywerealsoaskedabouttheirownactionsbehindthewheel.Additionally,theProjectandtheUniversityofMichiganconducted9focusgroupswithteensages12-18betweenJuneandOctober2009wherethetopicofdriv-ingandmobilephoneswasaddressed.

Fully75%ofallAmericanteensages12-17nowownacellphone,and66%usetheirphonestosendorreceivetextmessages.Olderteensaremorelikelythanyoungerteenstohavecellphonesandusetextmessag-ing;82%ofteensages16-17haveacellphoneand76%text.

Overall,34%ofteentextersages16-17saytheyhavetextedwhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto26%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.

Boysandgirlsareequallylikelytoreporttextingbe-hindthewheel;34%ofeachgroupsaytheyhaveusedtextmessagingwhiledriving.Atthesametime,textingatthewheelislesscommonthanhavingaconversationonthephonewhiledriving.Lookingatteensages16-17whohaveacellphone,52%saytheyhavetalkedonacellphonewhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto43%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.

page4

However,itisimportanttonotethatsomeoftheseteensmayusehands-freedevicesoraspeakerphonefunctionwiththeircellphones.Thissurveydidnotincludequestionstodiffer-entiatebetweenconversationswithhandheldphonesandthosethattookplacewiththeassis-tanceofahands-freedeviceorphonefeature.

Indeed,infocusgroupsandwrittensurveysconductedinpartnershipwiththeUniversityofMichigan,someteenstoldusthattheydrawalinebetweenconversationsandtexting,whileothersexpressedconcernoveranyactivitythattakesthedriver’seyesofftheroad.Onemiddleschool-agedgirlwrote:“I’mveryconcernedbecausetomeit’snottoosafetodriveandtextortalk(…)becauseyou’relookingdowninordertoreaditortextback.”

Likewise,onemiddleschool-agedboywrote:“Idoworryaboutitbecausewhatifyou’redrivingandnotpayingattentiontotheroadyoucanhitsomeoneormakethemhityou.”

One9th-10thgradeboysaid,“Peopletextingwor-riesmemorethanpeoplecallingpeople,becausetextingismoredistractingthantalkingonthephonebecauseyoucanpaymoreattentiontotheroadwhentalkingthantexting.”

Theteensinourfocusgroupswhosaidtheytextedwhiledrivingreportedavarietyofmotivationsfortheirbehavior,includingtheneedtoreporttheirwhereaboutstofriendsandparents,gettingdirectionsandflirtingwithsignificantothers.Teensalsotoldofavarietyofpracticestheyusetotrytoincreasesafetywhilestillmaintainingtheabilitytotextinthecar.Somefeltasthoughtheycouldsafelymanageaquickexchangeoftextswhilethecarwasstopped.Onehighschool-agedboysharedthathewouldtext“onlyat

page5

astopsignorlightbutifit’sacalltheyhavetowaitorI’llhandittomybrotherorwhoeverisnexttome.”

Otherstoldofholdingthephoneuptokeeptheireyessimultaneouslyontheroadandthephone.“Itrynotto,butataredlight,it’saloteasier”saidonehighschoolboy.“AndifIdotextwhileI’mdriving,Iusuallytrytokeepthephoneupnearthewindshield,soifsomeoneisbrak-inginfrontofmeorstopsshort,I’mnotgoingtobelookingdownandhitthem.”

Someteensexplainedothermethodsforhandlingcallsortextswhileontheroad“Mostofmyfriendsgivemetheirphonestotextforthemandreadtheirtexts,sothedriverdoesn’tdoitthemselves,”wroteoneolderhighschoolgirl.

One high-school aged boy said he thinks texting while driving is “fine,” adding, “I wear sunglasses

so the cops don’t see [my eyes looking down].”

Otherteensweremoreblaséabouttextinginthecar.Saidonehigh-schoolagedboy:“Ithinkit’sfine…AndIwearsunglassessothecopsdon’tsee[myeyeslookingdown].”Likewise,anoth-erhighschool-agedgirlwrotethatshetexts“allthetime,”andthat“everybodytextswhiletheydrive(…)likewhenI’mdrivingbymyselfI’llcallpeopleortextthem‘causeIgetbored.”Oneolderhighschool-agedboyexplainedthathelimitshistextingwhiledrivingonlyifhisparentsarearound:“I’mfinewithit,justnotwithmymomanddadinthecar.LikewhenI’mwithmybrother,Idoit.”

Teensdidmakeadistinctionbetweenreadingtextmessagesandsendingthem.“There’sadif-ference,Ithink,”saidoneolderhighschoolboy.“Becausejustreadingatextisn’tthatbad,it’sjustreadingandthenmovingon.Ifyou’retexting,it’sgoingtotakemoretimewhenyou’resup-posedtobedriving,andthat’swhenmostpeoplegetinaccidents.”

Theyalsomadeadistinctionbetweenplacingandansweringcallsonthephoneinthecarandsendingandreceivingtextmessages.“It’sdifferentbecausetextingyoumostlyhavetolookdown,”saidonemiddleschoolboy.“[While]callingyou’restillmostlyfocusedbutyoucouldgetintoconversationsandnotbeawareofwhat’sgoingonandstuff.”Anotherhighschoolboywrote:“Itdependsonwhatthedriverisdoing-textingorcalling.Ifhe’stexting,tomethat’sadangerousthing.Ifthedriverisusingthephonetochatwithpeople,Iamworried,butifheorsheusesthephone[in]anemergency,I’mnotworriedasmuch.”

Distracted drivers with teens as passengersAmongallteensages12-17,48%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.Theolderteensinoursamplereportedahigherincidenceofthisexperience;while32%ofteensages12-13saytheyhavebeenpassengersinacarwhilethedriverwastextingatthewheel,55%ofthoseages14-17reportthis.Lookingonlyatthosewhoareofdrivingage—16and17year-olds—theratejumpsto64%.

page6

Inaseparatequestion,teensages12-17wereaskediftheyhadbeeninacarwhenthedriverusedthecellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger.Fourintenteens(40%)saidtheyhadbeeninariskysituationlikethis.Youngerteensages12-13aregenerallylesslikelytosaytheyhavebeeninacarwithadriverwhousedacellphoneinadangerousway;34%reportthis,comparedwith42%ofthoseages14-17.Teensofdrivingage(16-17)arethemostlikelytoreportthisexperience;48%havebeenapassengerinacarwithadriverwhousedacellphoneinariskyway.

However,itisimportanttonotethatthesurveyquestionwordingdoesnotidentifytheageofthedistracteddriver.Theteenswhowereinterviewedinthephonesurveycouldbereportingexperiencesaspassengerswithadultdriversorotherteendrivers.Indeed,asnotedabove,inthefocusgroupsetting,manyteensrelayedaccountsoftheirparentsorotheradultrelativestextingandtalkingwhiledriving.Whilethiswascauseforconcernforsome,othersfeltthattheirparentsandotherswere“gooddrivers”whocouldmanagetheirphonessafely.

“[My dad] drives like he’s drunk. His phone is just like sitting right in front of his face, and he puts his knees on

the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text.”

Whenaskedwhetherhehadanyconcernsaboutsafetywhenadriverusesthephone,onemiddleschool-agedboywrote:“Iamconcernedbecausewhenmymomdrivesshetalksonthephonealotsosheisstillalertbutshecangetkindofdangerous.”Another9th/10thgradeboysaid“Yeah[mydad]hedriveslikehe’sdrunk.Hisphoneisjustlikesittingrightinfrontofhisface,andheputshiskneesonthebottomofthesteeringwheelandtriestotext.”

Thefrequencyofteensreportingparentcellphoneusebehindthewheelinourfocusgroupswasstriking,andsuggestedthat,inmanycases,textingwhiledrivingisafamilyaffair.Whenonemiddleschool-agedboywasaskedhowoftenhewasinamovingvehiclewhenthedriversendsatextmessage,hereplied:“Allthetime.Mymom,sisterorbrotherwillsitbehindthewheelthewholetimeandjusttextaway.”Similarly,amiddleschoolgirltoldus:“Myunclewilldriveandtextwhileheisdriving–hewilltextnomatterwhereheis.”

“I don’t really get worried because everyone does it,” one middle school-aged girl wrote. “And when my mother

is texting and driving I don’t really make a big deal because we joke around with her about it”

Otherteenrespondentsreferredtotheirparents’useofthephonewhiledrivingaspartofalargersocietalnorm.Onemiddleschool-agedgirlwrote:“Idon’treallygetworriedbecauseeveryonedoesit.AndwhenmymotheristextinganddrivingIdon’treallymakeabigdealbe-causewejokearoundwithheraboutit(cuzshe’sacrazydriver)butwedon’ttakeitsoserious.”

Textingwasnottheonlycauseforconcernamongtheteenswhoparticipatedinourfocusgroups.WealsoheardaboutthedistractionsofdriverstryingtoaccessGlobalPositioningSys-

page7

tem(GPS)informationwhilecarswereinmotion.Andsometeenscitedotherapplicationsavail-ableonsmartphonesthattakethedriver’seyesofftheroad.“Mydad,hewasn’treallytexting,butwhenhedrives,hehasaGPSonhisBlackberry,sowhenhe’sdriving,helooksdownathisphone”saidonemiddleschoolboy,“…soit’slikethesame[as]beingdistractedfromtheroad.Mymomalwaysgetsonhimabouthowit’sunsafeandstuff.”

However,manyoftheteenswespokewithrelayedexperiencesaspassengersbeingdrivenbyotheryoungdrivers.Oneyounghighschoolgirlwroteabouthowoftenshe’sapassengerwithdriverswhotext:“EverytimeIleavetogosomewherewithmybrotherorsisterandmyfriends.Everytime!”Anotherhighschoolagegirlwrote:“Mysisterdoesitdespitemymother’swarn-ings,sodoesmybrotherandmyfriendsdespitemywarnings.”

Teen texters are more likely than non-texters to be a passenger of a distracted driver.Teensages12-17whousetextmessagingreportahigherincidenceofbeingpassengerswhenthedriveristextingorotherwiseusingthecellphoneinadangerousway.Amongallteentex-ters,58%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhilethedriverwastexting.Thatcompareswithjust28%ofnon-textingteens.Similarly,44%oftextingteenssaytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwasusingacellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger,while31%ofnon-tex-tingteenshavehadthisexperience.

page8

Oldertextingteensages16-17areevenmorelikelytobeinthecompanyofdriverswhousetheircellphoneswhileatthewheel.Fully73%oftextingteensages16-17havebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.Half(52%)saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneinadangerousway.

“I’ll snatch the phone out of your hands – don’t be driving in the car with me and doing that,” one high school boy said.

“I want to live until the end of this car ride.”

Teensinourfocusgroupshadavarietyofresponsestothesesituations–somewereadamantandangryaboutbeingendangered.Onehighschoolboywasaskedaboutridingwithdriverswhotext:“Notiftheyknowwhat’sgoodforthem.I’llsnatchthephoneoutofyourhands–don’tbedrivinginthecarwithmeanddoingthat…Iwanttoliveuntiltheendofthiscarride.”

Otherswerelessconcerned:“Itdoesn’treallybotherme,”wroteonehighschoolboy,“I’vemadeandreceivedcallsalmosteverytimeI’vedriven.”Anotherhighschoolboywrote:“Iworryaboutiftheycandoit.Iftheyknowwhatthey’redoingandlookingupeverysecond.Iusuallywatchtheroadwhenithappensandtellthemifthey’regoingofftheroadorsomething.Idon’treallycarethough.”

Resources for further information

Belowarelinkstoresearchgroupscitedinthisdocumentaswellasothersitesthatpresentmoreexhaustivelooksatrelevantresearchandresourcesondistracteddriving.

• TheNationalSafetyCouncilhasproducedarecentlistofrelevantresearchathttp://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/KeyResearch.aspx#cognitive.

• UniversityofUtah’sAppliedCognitionLaboratory’swebsitelistsalltheirrelevantre-searchsince2001.http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/

• VirginiaTechTransportationInstitute’sCenterforAutomotiveSafetyResearchiscon-ductingasafetystudyofnewlylicensedteendrivers.http://www.vtti.vt.edu/casr.html

• Alistingofresources,rantsandresearcharounddistracteddrivingfromNPRandCarTalk:http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Distraction/

• Clearinghouseforstate-basedlawsarounddistracteddrivingaswellaseducationandawarenessraisingmaterialsaroundtextinganddriving:http://txtresponsibly.org/

page9

Acknowledgements ThankstoRichLingofTelenorandScottCampbelloftheUniversityofMichigan,ourpartnersonthisprojectfortheirhardworkandinsights.Thanks,too,toHelenHo,ElliotPanek,NatPoorandKathrynZickuhrfortheirworkonthefocusgroupsandgraphicsinthisreport.

About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life ProjectThePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectisoneofsevenprojectsthatmakeupthePewResearchCenter,anonpartisan,nonprofit“facttank”thatprovidesinformationontheissues,attitudesandtrendsshapingAmericaandtheworld.TheProjectproducesreportsexploringtheimpactoftheinternetonfamilies,communities,workandhome,dailylife,educa-tion,healthcare,andcivicandpoliticallife.TheProjectaimstobeanauthoritativesourceontheevolutionoftheinternetthroughsurveysthatexaminehowAmericansusetheinternetandhowtheiractivitiesaffecttheirlives.

ThePewInternetProjecttakesnopositionsonpolicyissuesrelatedtotheinternetorothercommunicationstechnologies.Itdoesnotendorsetechnologies,industrysectors,companies,nonprofitorganizations,orindividuals.

MethodologyThisreportisbasedonthefindingsofatelephonesurveyonteens’andparents’useofmobilephonesand9focusgroupsconductedin4U.S.citiesbetweenJuneandOctober2009withteensbetweentheagesof12and18.ThequantitativeresultsinthisreportarebasedondatafromtelephoneinterviewsconductedbyPrincetonSurveyResearchInternationalbetweenJune26andSeptember24,2009,amongasampleof800teensages12-17andaparentorguard-ian.Forresultsbasedonthetotalsample,onecansaywith95%confidencethattheerrorattributabletosamplingandotherrandomeffectsisplusorminus3.8percentagepointsforthecompletesetofweighteddata.Inadditiontosamplingerror,questionwordingandpracticaldifficultiesinconductingtelephonesurveysmayintroducesomeerrororbiasintothefindingsofopinionpolls.

Acombinationoflandlineandcellularrandomdigitdial(RDD)sampleswasusedtorepresentallteensandtheirparentsinthecontinentalUnitedStateswhohaveaccesstoeitheralandline

page10

orcellulartelephone.BothsampleswereprovidedbySurveySamplingInternational,LLC(SSI)accordingtoPSRAIspecifications.

Numbersforthelandlinesamplewereselectedwithprobabilitiesinproportiontotheirshareoflistedtelephonehouseholdsfromactiveblocks(areacode+exchange+two-digitblocknum-ber)thatcontainedthreeormoreresidentialdirectorylistings.Thecellularsamplewasnotlist-assisted,butwasdrawnthroughasystematicsamplingfromdedicatedwireless100-blocksandsharedservice100-blockswithnodirectory-listedlandlinenumbers.

InterviewswereconductedfromJune26toSeptember24,2009.Asmanyas7attemptsweremadetocontactandinterviewaparentateverysampledtelephonenumber.Aftertheparentinterview,anadditional7callsweremadetointerviewaneligibleteen.Samplewasreleasedforinterviewinginreplicates,whicharerepresentativesubsamplesofthelargersample.Usingreplicatestocontrolthereleaseofsampleensuresthatcompletecallproceduresarefollowedfortheentiresample.Callswerestaggeredovertimesofdayanddaysoftheweektomaximizethechanceofmakingcontactwithpotentialrespondents.Eachtelephonenumberreceivedatleastonedaytimecallinanattempttofindsomeoneathome.

Contactprocedureswereslightlydifferentforthelandlineandcellsamples.Forthelandlinesample,interviewersfirstdeterminedifthehouseholdhadany12to17year-oldresidents.Householdswithnoteenswerescreened-outasineligible.Ineligiblehouseholds,interviewersfirstconductedashortparentinterviewwitheitherthefather/maleguardianormother/femaleguardian.Theshortparentinterviewaskedsomebasichouseholddemographicquestionsaswellasquestionsaboutaparticularteeninthehousehold(selectedatrandomifmorethanoneteenlivedinthehouse.)

Forthecellphonesample,interviewsfirstmadesurethatrespondentswereinasafeplacetotalkandthattheywerespeakingwithanadult.Callsmadetominorswerescreened-outasin-eligible.Ifthepersonwasnotinasafeplacetotalkacallbackwasscheduled.Interviewersthenaskedifany12to17yearoldslivedintheirhousehold.Caseswherenoteenslivedinthehouse-holdwerescreened-outasineligible.Iftherewasanage-eligibleteeninthehousehold,theinterviewersaskedifthepersononthecellphonewasaparentofthechild.Thosewhowereparentswentontocompletetheparentinterview.Thoswhowerenotparentswerescreened-outasineligible.

Forbothsamples,aftertheparentinterviewwascompleteaninterviewwascompletedwiththetargetchild.Datawaskeptonlyifthechildinterviewwascompleted.

Weightingisgenerallyusedinsurveyanalysistocompensateforpatternsofnonresponsethatmightbiasresults.Theinterviewedsamplewasweightedtomatchnationalparametersforbothparentandchilddemographics.Theparentdemographicsusedforweightingwere:sex;age;education;race;Hispanicorigin;andregion(U.S.Censusdefinitions).Thechilddemographicsusedforweightingweregenderandage.TheseparameterscamefromaspecialanalysisoftheCensusBureau’s2008AnnualSocialandEconomicSupplement(ASEC)thatincludedallhouse-holdsinthecontinentalUnitedStates.

page11

WeightingwasaccomplishedusingSampleBalancing,aspecialiterativesampleweightingpro-gramthatsimultaneouslybalancesthedistributionsofallvariablesusingastatisticaltechniquecalledtheDemingAlgorithm.Weightsweretrimmedtopreventindividualinterviewsfromhavingtoomuchinfluenceonthefinalresults.Theuseoftheseweightsinstatisticalanalysisen-suresthatthedemographiccharacteristicsofthesamplecloselyapproximatethedemographiccharacteristicsofthenationalpopulation.Table1comparesweightedandunweightedsampledistributionstopopulationparameters.

Table 1: Sample Disposition

Parameter Unweighted WeightedCensusRegionNortheast 17.8 15.4 17.4Midwest 21.8 24.6 22.1South 36.7 36.8 36.9West 23.7 23.3 23.6

Parent'sSexMale 43.7 36.3 42.4Female 56.3 63.8 57.6

Parent'sAgeLT35 10.0 11.8 10.235-39 19.2 16.6 18.840-44 26.4 21.3 25.645-49 24.8 26.2 25.250-54 13.1 16.0 13.555+ 6.4 8.1 6.6

Parent'sEducationLessthanHSgrad. 13.1 7.5 11.6HSgrad. 34.9 27.6 35.1Somecollege 23.2 25.0 23.6Collegegrad. 28.8 39.9 29.8

page12

continued on the next page

Parent'sRace/EthnicityWhite,notHispanic 63.6 69.5 65.2Black,notHispanic 11.9 14.8 12.3Hispanic 18.1 10.0 16.1Other,notHispanic 6.3 5.8 6.4

Kid'sSexMale 50.9 53.6 51.3Female 49.1 46.4 48.7

Kid'sAge12 16.7 14.3 16.113 16.7 17.0 16.814 16.7 15.6 16.615 16.7 17.8 16.816 16.7 16.3 16.717 16.7 19.1 17.0

Table2onthefollowingpagereportsthedispositionofallsampledcallbacktelephonenumberseverdialed.Theresponserateestimatesthefractionofalleligiblerespondentsinthesamplethatwereultimatelyinterviewed.AtPSRAIitiscalculatedbytakingtheproductofthreecompo-nentrates:10

• Contactrate–theproportionofworkingnumberswherearequestforinterviewwasmade11

• Cooperationrate–theproportionofcontactednumberswhereaconsentforinterviewwasatleastinitiallyobtained,versusthoserefused

• Completionrate–theproportionofinitiallycooperatingandeligibleinterviewsthatagreedtothechildinterviewandwerecompleted

Thustheresponserateforlandlinesamplewas14percentandtheresponserateforthecellsamplewas11percent.

10PSRAI’sdispositioncodesandreportingareconsistentwiththeAmericanAssociationforPublicOpinionResearchstandards.

11PSRAIassumesthat75percentofcasesthatresultinaconstantdispositionof“Noanswer”or“Busy”areactuallynotwork-ingnumbers.

page13

Table 2: Sample Disposition

Landline Cell

95863 39997 TTotalNumbersDialed

5185 619 OFNon-residential4147 29 OFComputer/Fax59 0 OFCellphone

39588 14290 OFOthernotworking6206 1145 UHAdditionalprojectednot

working40679 23915 Workingnumbers42.4% 59.8% WorkingRate

2069 382 UHNoAnswer/Busy7575 5176 UONCVoiceMail79 11 UONCOtherNon-Contact

30956 18346 Contactednumbers76.1% 76.7% ContactRate

2611 3092 UORCallback17958 8644 UORRefusal10387 6610 Cooperatingnumbers33.6% 36.0% CooperationRate

1232 837 IN1LanguageBarrier1717 IN1Child'scellphone

8142 3426 IN2Noteeninhousehold1013 630 Eligiblenumbers9.8% 9.5% EligibilityRate

260 212 RParentrefusedchildinterview209 162 RBreak-offchildorparent544 256 ICompletes53.7% 40.6% CompletionRate

13.7% 11.2% ResponseRate

page14

ThequalitativedatacomesfromfocusgroupsconductedbytheUniversityofMichiganandthePewInternet&AmericanLifeProject.Atotalof9focusgroupsconductedin4citiesbetweenJuneandOctober2009withteensbetweentheagesof12and18.Threeofthegroupswereco-edand6weresinglesex–3groupswitheachsex.Threeofthegroupswerewithmiddleschoolersand6werewithhighschool-agedstudents.Everyeffortwasmadetosecureadiversegroupofparticipants,withabalanceofteensfromdifferentracialandethnicbackgroundsandsocio-economiclevels.Allteenswhoparticipatedinthefocusgroupshadacellularphone.Par-ticipantswereofferedacashincentiveforparticipation.

Eachfocusgrouplastedapproximately90minutes,andincludedanindividuallyadministeredpaperquestionnairewithadditionalquestionsthatwascompletedduringthe90minuteses-sion.RecruitmentforthefocusgroupswasdonebyResolutionResearchLLCofDenver,Colo-rado.FocusgroupsweremoderatedbyAmandaLenhartofPewInternetandScottCampbelloftheUniversityofMichigan,usuallyinteamsoftwo,withoneleadmoderatorandonesecondarymoderator.UniversityofMichigangraduatestudentsalsoattendedthefocusgroups.

page15

Parent/Teen Cell Phone Survey 2009 Final Revised Topline 10/1/09

DataforJune26–September24,2009

PrincetonSurveyResearchAssociatesInternationalforthePewInternet&AmericanLifeProject

Sample:n=800parentsof12-17yearolds(555parentlandlineinterviewsand245parentcellphoneinterviews)

800teensages12-17

Interviewingdates:06.26.09–09.24.09

Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedontotalparents[n=800]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedontotalteens[n=800]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteeninternetusers[n=746]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteencellphoneusers[n=625]Marginoferrorisplusorminus5percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteenswhotext[n=552]

K45 Have you ever experienced or done any of the following? (First,) have you ever [INSERT IN ORDER]?

YES NO DON’TKNOW REFUSED

a. Beeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting 48 52 * *b. Beeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneina

waythatputthemselvesorothersindanger40 60 * *

Item C: Based on teens ages 16-17 who use their cell phone to text [N=222]c. Textedwhiledriving 34 66 0 0

Item D: Based on teen cell users ages 16-17 [N=242]d. Talkedonacellphonewhiledriving 52 48 0 0

page16