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Table 3. Percentage of CDS Crashes Involving Inattention -Distraction <br />Related Crash Causes <br />% of % of <br />Data Element Drivers Crashes <br />Attentive or not distracted 46.6% 23.4 % <br />Looked but did not see 5.6% 9.7 % <br />Distracted by other occupant [specified] 0.9 % 1.6% <br />Distracted by moving object in vehicle [specified] 0.3 % 0.5 % <br />Distracted while dialing, talking, or listening to cellular 0.1%© 0.1 %® <br />phone [location and type of phone specified] <br />Distracted while adjusting climate controls 0.2 %fit 0.3 %@ <br />Distracted while adjusting radio, cassette, CD [specified] 1.2% 2.I % <br />Distracted while using other device/object in vehicle 0.1 % 0.2% <br />[specified] <br />Sleepy or fell asleep 1.5% 2.6% <br />Distracted by outside person, object, or event [specified] 2.0 % 3.2% <br />Eating or drinking 0.1% 0.2% <br />Smoking -related 0.1% 0.2% <br />Distracted/inattentive, details unknown 1.5% 2.6% <br />Other distraction [specified] 1.3% 2.2% <br />Unknown/No Driver 38.5% 46.0% <br />Weighted driver N = 4,627,000 (7,943, unweighted); weighted crash N = 2,619,000 (4,536); <br />In order for a crash to classified 'attentive," all involved drivers had to he classified "attentive.' <br />- estimate based on 5-9 cases. <br />University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center <br />The Role of Driver Distraction in Traffic Crashes (Stuffs et al., 2001)19 <br />A study prepared by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center <br />for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety examined the sources of driver distraction in <br />traffic crashes. The data came from the CDS from 1995-1999. Of the thirteen specific <br />sources of distraction tracked by the study, the greatest source of distraction was an <br />outside person, object or event. While the study does not break down the sources of <br />outside distraction, it does show that distractions outside the vehicle are the largest factor <br />in distraction -related crashes. The results of this study are presented in Table 4. <br />Table 4. Specific Sources of Distraction Among Drivers in Distraction Related Crashes <br />Specific Distraction Percentage of <br />Drivers <br />Outside person, object or event 29.4 <br />Adjusting radio, cassette, CD 11.4 <br />Other occupant in vehicle 10.9 <br />Moving object in vehicle 4.3 <br />Other device/object brought into vehicle 2.9 <br />Adjusting vehicle/climate controls 2.8 <br />Eating or drinking 1.7 <br />Using/dialing cell phone 1.5 <br />Smoking related 0.9 <br />Other distraction 25.6 <br />Unknown distraction 8.6 <br />Total 100.0 <br />12 <br />