Skip to main content
. 2016 Jun 14;6(6):e011381. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011381

Table 2.

Demographic characteristics of apprehended drivers by type of traffic violation in select states, USA†

Texting violations (N=14 682)‡
Hand-held violations (N=2 522 350)§
Young driver ban violations (N=342)¶
All traffic citations (N=12 758 958)**
N (%) p Value N (%) p Value N (%) p Value N (%)
Demographics
 Age (in years) * * *
 15–17 103 (1.1) 528 (0.0) 150 (81.1) 54 698 (0.5)
 18–24 2862 (30.6) 155 793 (6.4) 35 (18.9) 1 810 848 (18.0)
 25–64 6323 (67.7) 2 229 662 (90.8) NA 7 931 035 (78.9)
 ≥65 52 (0.6) 68 874 (2.8) NA 260 340 (2.6)
 Missing 5342 67 493 157 2 702 037
 Sex * * *
 Male 6742 (56.4) 1 937 440 (76.9) 194 (56.7) 7 585 692 (68.2)
 Female 5220 (43.6) 582 856 (23.1) 148 (43.3) 3 541 444 (31.8)
 Missing 2720 2054 0 1 631 822
 In-state violators * * *
 Yes 7429 (55.2) 2 056 716 (82.2) 175 (51.2) 9 898 499 (85.8)
 No 6019 (44.8) 445 605 (17.8) 167 (48.8) 1 641 948 (14.2)
 Missing 1234 20 029 5 1 218 511
 Day of week * * 0.70
 Mon-Thurs 7288 (63.9) 1 758 405 (69.7) 201 (58.8) 7 625 463 (59.8)
 Fri-Sun 4122 (36.1) 763 945 (30.3) 141 (41.2) 5 130 141 (40.2)
 Missing 3272 0 0 3354
 Season * * 0.09
Winter 2100 (18.4) 587 615 (23.3) 73 (21.4) 3 053 739 (23.9)
 Spring 2554 (22.4) 758 206 (30.1) 85 (24.9) 3 455 816 (27.1)
 Summer 3454 (30.3) 621 579 (24.6) 99 (29.0) 3 293 759 (25.8)
 Fall 3302 (28.9) 554 950 (22.0) 85 (24.9) 2 952 290 (23.2)
 Missing 3272 0 0 3354

Cochran Armitage Trend test was used to obtain p values for age and season; Pearson's χ2 tests were used to obtain p values for all other variables; comparison groups were drivers who did not receive that specific citation.

*=p≤0.05.

†Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. P=probability.

‡May include data from states with texting bans—Alaska 2009–2013, Connecticut 2007–2013, District of Columbia 2008–2013, Kentucky 2011–2013, Massachusetts 2011–2013, Michigan 2011–2013, Mississippi 2012–2013, North Carolina 2010–2013, North Dakota 2012–2013, Nebraska 2011–2013, New York 2010–2013, Ohio 2013, Utah 2012–2013, Washington 2008–2013, and Wyoming 2011–2013.

§May include data from states with hand-held bans—Connecticut 2007–2013, District of Columbia 2008–2013, New York 2010–2013, Utah 2012–2013, and Washington 2008–2013.

¶May include data from states with young driver bans—Connecticut 2007–2013, District of Columbia 2008–2013, Kentucky 2012–2013, Massachusetts 2011–2013, North Carolina 2010–2013, North Dakota 2013, Nebraska 2011–2013, Ohio 2013 and Washington 2011–2012. Data from Michigan and Utah could not be used because these states passed legislation during 2013.

**Summary column. Includes all citation data (cell phone violations and all other traffic citations)—Alaska 2009–2013, Connecticut 2007–2013, District of Columbia 2008–2013, Kentucky 2011–2013, Massachusetts 2011–2013, Michigan 2011–2013, Mississippi 2012–2013, North Carolina 2010–2013, North Dakota 2012–2013, Nebraska 2011–2013, New York 2010–2013, Ohio 2013, Utah 2012–2013, Washington 2008–2013, and Wyoming 2011–2013.

NA, Not applicable.