Research & Evaluation
Behavioral Research
Behaviors and Attitudes
NHTSA studies behaviors and attitudes in highway safety, focusing on drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. We identify and measure behaviors involved in crashes or associated with injuries, and develop and refine countermeasures to deter unsafe behaviors and promote safe alternatives.
Our recently published reports and research notes are listed chronologically below. To the right are additional resources including Traffic Techs.
| Title | Report |
|---|---|
Child Passenger Safety State of Knowledge: A Literature ReviewThis systematic literature review presents a synthesis of behavioral safety research on child passenger safety (CPS) published from 2000 to 2022, focused on children up to age 12, and that was conducted in the United States. A stakeholder meeting at the beginning of the project established important issues, gaps in available information, and stakeholder and audience needs. The review provides information about the current state of CPS; the history of CPS recommendations, regulations, and requirements; child restraint system types; non-use and misuse of child restraint systems and their risk factors; and approaches for reducing child fatalities and injuries in motor vehicle crashes, including education, outreach, State legislation and enforcement, and programs for communities with lower CRS use. |
DOT HS 813 784 |
Considerations for Building A Community-Led Initiative: Engaging Communities With Lower Child Restraint UseThis quick start guide summarizes behavioral safety research on child passenger safety, focused on children up to age 12 and conducted in the United States, providing effective approaches to properly restraining children in communities with historically lower rates of child restraint use, helping them to consider new strategies. The guide is accompanied by two supplemental presentations and their corresponding speaker notes that cover both top insights from NHTSA’s CPS State of Knowledge and engaging communities with lower child restraint use. |
DOT HS 813 783 |
Demonstration of Buckle Up Phone Down in Jackson, Mississippi and Sioux Falls, South DakotaPreusser Research Group studied the Missouri Buckle Up Phone Down program to assist in the demonstration of similar programs in two locations (Jackson, Mississippi, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Demonstration programs integrated key elements of the Missouri model program to design the leadership structure, program material, and publicity and outreach efforts. Implementation teams designed BUPD programs within 3 months and implemented programs over 6 months (October 2022 – March 2023). This report includes descriptions of both demonstration programs along with qualitative insights, lessons learned, and suggested steps to replicate the program. |
DOT HS 813 757 |
Evaluation of Buckle Up Phone Down in Jackson, Mississippi, and Sioux Falls, South DakotaThe Buckle Up Phone Down program offers a potential non-enforcement approach to changing driver seat belt and cellphone use behavior. This report presents the results from process and outcome evaluations examining the implementation and effectiveness of BUPD in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Jackson, Mississippi. It outlines how implementation teams executed BUPD and includes lessons learned. Post-implementation observations did not show statistically significant changes in seat belt use or cellphone use in the demonstration cities compared to the control cities. The discussion uses behavioral theories to explore BUPD components and their potential for achieving behavior change. |
DOT HS 813 761 |
Percent of Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities Who Were Alive At Scene Post-Crash by State (2019 – 2023)Nationally, 43% of motor vehicle crash (MVC) fatalities between 2019 and 2023 were alive at the scene when emergency services arrived but later died after leaving the scene. Of these, about one-third occurred in rural areas and two-thirds in urban areas. |
DOT HS 813 752 |
Resources to Prevent Impaired Driving in Rural AreasThis report highlights promising practices implemented in rural areas to prevent impaired driving. Its purpose is to provide information and tools to a broad group of stakeholders in rural areas to let them identify and tailor approaches that make sense for their communities to prevent impaired driving. |
DOT HS 813 674 |
Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety – Literature ReviewThis report synthesizes the literature on key topics related to crash patterns and trends, the role of human behavior on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, the role of the built environment on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, the role of the vehicle on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, emerging safety concerns, laws and policies, programs for behavior change, engineering countermeasures, technology-based interventions, safety data sources, and analysis methods. |
DOT HS 813 568 |
Effects of Education on Speeding BehaviorSpeeding-related crashes continue to be serious problems in the United States. In 2022 there were 12,151 fatalities and an additional 300,595 people injured in speeding-related crashes. It is important to examine countermeasures that supplement the effective, but not fully-mitigating, enforcement on speed management To address this, this project used naturalistic driving data and self-report survey data to examine the effect of a brief speeding education course on driver speeding behavior, attitudes, and beliefs. The results showed that speeding education significantly reduced speeding frequency and duration in the longer-term; reduced speeding magnitude on roads with posted speed limits of 50 mph or higher; reduced speeding magnitude for younger drivers; and reduced speeding magnitude and duration for drivers who had no speeding citation history. |
DOT HS 813 651 |
State-of-Knowledge on Distracted Driving Due to Portable Electronic Device Use: 2008 – 2022 UpdateThis report updated what is known about the behavioral aspects of driver distraction due to portable electronic device (PED) use – mainly cellphones -- since the publication of a NHTSA state-of-knowledge report in 2008. This report is a reference for highway safety stakeholders, benchmarking the state of the driver PED use problem from 2008 to 2022 as defined by four primary focus areas. |
DOT HS 813 645 |
2022-2023 National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and BehaviorsThis report presents data from the fourth National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behaviors, which yields national estimates of driver behaviors and attitudes about speeding in the United States. Data was collected via web and mail surveys from 5,680 respondents who drive at least a few times per year. Results show that respondents have similar attitudes toward speeding from both a normative and personal perspective. Despite the differences observed between driver types throughout the survey results, respondents generally agreed that it is important to do something about speeding and generally agree about the use of certain countermeasures to reduce speeding. |
DOT HS 813 594 |