Cell Phones and Young Drivers: a Systematic Review Regarding the Association Between Psychological Factors and Prevention

Objective: Cell phone use among young drivers has become increasingly common in recent years. Young people are the most likely to accept the use of new technology and least likely to understand the risks associated with cell phone use while driving (CPWD; defined here as talking on the phone only) and texting while driving (TextWD). Due to inexperience, young drivers are the most at risk when using cell phones while driving and therefore should be the target of the majority of prevention strategies. The intent of this review is to determine factors that influence young drivers to engage in CPWD and TextWD and suggest a basis for prevention campaigns and strategies that can effectively prevent current and future generations from using cell phones while driving.

Methods: We conducted a search for original articles in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. All abstracts were reviewed and for those that met the inclusion criteria, full articles were obtained and assessed.

Results: Four hundred and twelve articles were identified in the search and, of those, 37 full-text articles were obtained. A total of 29 articles about the frequency of CPWD and the psychological effects influencing young driver's tendency to engage in CPWD were included. There was a high frequency of both CPWD and TextWD despite a high perceived risk of both behaviors. This discrepancy was explained by a high perceived controllability, the effect of social norms, call importance, and lack of effective law enforcement. The intervention strategies reviewed were also found to be ineffective over the long term.

Conclusions: The systematic review reveals that young drivers are an at-risk group for distracted driving. We propose preventative strategies based on identifying factors that influence drivers to engage in CPWD and TextWD as well as by reviewing strategies found in the reviewed articles. Further research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of these proposed strategies.