Patterns of Texting and Driving in a US National Survey of Millennial Parents vs Older Parents

Abstract

This cross-sectional US national survey study assesses data about driving safely and cell phone use from millennial-aged parents and older parents with children 14 years or younger.

The national US motor vehicle fatality rate has recently increased, with distracted driving being a potential underlying cause.¹ Texting and driving is prevalent, associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes,² and more common among younger drivers.³ Millennials (born 1981-1996),⁴ known for their significant cell phone and technology use, are becoming parents. Little is known about parent driving behavior associated with crash risk and the influence of such behavior on children’s subsequent driving habits.⁵ The aim of this study was to characterize the texting and driving patterns of millennial vs older parents.

Methods

This cross-sectional national survey included questions regarding demographic data, driving safety and cell phone use with children in the car, whether the parent had been asked by a pediatrician about texting and driving, and the Distracted Driving Survey (DDS). The DDS is a validated survey instrument with questions on the frequency of text message reading and writing; use of email, social media, and maps while driving; and the highest speeds at which the respondent has performed those activities in the previous 30 days.^2,6 Higher DDS scores reflect more reckless behavior. Survey invitations were distributed to a national panel of respondents across the 4 main regions of the United States (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) in a census representative fashion using SurveyGizmo software in partnership with Cint (Cint USA). Parents with a car, with at least 1 child younger than 14 years, and who had driven their child in the previous 30 days were included. The specific ages and number of children were not solicited. Millennial drivers, defined as those aged 22 to 37 years, were then compared with drivers older than 37 years. This study was approved by the institutional review board of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. All participants provided informed consent. All analyses were completed with SAS software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc). Numerical variables were compared using either an unpaired t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test, and categorical variables were compared using χ² test or Fisher exact test, with P < .05 indicating significance.

Results

The survey population included 435 parents (218 women [50.1%]), consisting of 225 millennial parents (mean [SD] age, 33.0 [3.0] years) and 210 older parents (mean [SD] age, 44.1 [5.7] years) from 45 states (Table 1). Four participants (0.9%) answered the survey incompletely; missing responses were excluded (Table 2). Most parents had read (294 [67.6%]) and written (236 [54.3%]) texts while driving in the past 30 days. The DDS score was significantly associated with crash rate; respondents reporting no crashes (n = 374) had a median DDS score of 6 (interquartile range, 2-12), whereas respondents reporting at least one crash (n = 57) had a median DDS score of 20 (interquaritle range, 9-34; P < .001). The DDS score was significantly higher for millennial (median DDS, 8 [interquartile range, 3-17]) than for older parents (median DDS, 6 [interquartile range, 2-12]; P = .005). Millennial parents read text messages while driving more frequently than did older parents (most or some of the time, 95 of 225 [42.2%] vs 56 of 210 [26.7%]; χ² test, P = .006), whereas no difference was seen for writing texts (most or some of the time, 44 of 225 [19.5%] vs 29 of 210 [13.8%]; P = .22). Crash rates in the prior 12 months did not differ significantly by age group (36 of 223 [16.1%] for millennial parents and 21 of 208 [10.1%] for older parents; P = .06). Regardless of age, 254 parents (58.4%) said they are safer drivers and 292 (67.1%) said they use their cell phone less when their children are in the car. Of 388 parents who had taken their child to the pediatrician in the past year, only 87 (22.4%) had been asked about texting and driving behavior. Only 55 of 224 millennial parents (24.6%) and 36 of 208 older parents (17.3%) used an app or cell phone feature aimed at reducing texting and driving, a difference by parental age grouping that was not statistically significant (P = .18).

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics.

Characteristic	Parent Groupa		P Value
	Millennial (n = 225 [51.7%])b	Older (n = 210 [48.3%])c
Age, mean (SD), y	33.0 (3.0)	44.1 (5.7)	NA
Women, No. (%)	111 (49.3)	107 (51.0)	.74
Educational status, No. (%)
Some high school	1 (0.4)	3 (1.4)	.77
High school diploma or GED	49 (21.8)	41 (19.5)
Some college	37 (16.4)	31 (14.8)
Associate’s degree	21 (9.3)	26 (12.4)
Bachelor’s degree	71 (31.6)	64 (30.5)
Postbaccalaureate	46 (20.4)	45 (21.4)
Race/ethnicity,d No. (%)
White	189 (84.0)	172 (81.9)	.56
Black or African American	14 (6.2)	18 (8.6)	.35
Asian	10 (4.4)	10 (4.8)	.88
Native American or Alaskan	5 (2.2)	5 (2.4)	.91
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	1 (0.4)	1 (0.5)	>.99
Other	7 (3.1)	6 (2.9)	.88
Hispanic or Latino	41 (18.2)	28 (13.3)	.16

Abbreviations: GED, General Educational Development; NA, not applicable.

^aPercentages have been rounded and may not total 100.

^bIncludes parents aged 22 to 37 years.

^cIncludes parents older than 37 years.

^dSome respondents checked more than 1 race/ethnicity category.

Table 2. Distracted Driving of Millennial and Older Parents.

Variable	Parent Groupa		P Value
	Millennialb	Olderc
Did the pediatrician or nurse ask you about texting while driving your child?d
Yes	50/206 (24.3)	37/182 (20.3)	.22
No	152/206 (73.8)	140/182 (76.9)
Do not know	3/206 (1.5)	4/182 (2.2)
Not applicable	1/206 (0.5)	1/182 (0.5)
Do you think that you can safely text and drive?
Never	117/224 (52.2)	118/208 (56.7)	.54
Other options (rarely, some of the time, most of the time, every time)	107/224 (47.8)	90/208 (43.3)
Do you use any apps or cell phone features aimed at reducing distracted driving?
Yes	55/224 (24.6)	36/208 (17.3)	.18
No	160/224 (71.4)	162/208 (77.9)
Do not know	9/224 (4.0)	10/208 (4.8)
Distracted Driving Survey
No. completed	224	208	.005
Score, median (IQR)e	8 (3-17)	6 (2-12)
Crashes in prior 12 mo
None	187/223 (83.9)	187/208 (89.9)	.06
≥1	36/223 (16.1)	21/208 (10.1)

Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.

^aData are presented as number/total number (percentage) of parents unless otherwise indicated. Percentages have been rounded and may not total 100.

^bIncludes parents aged 22 to 37 years.

^cIncludes parents older than 37 years.

^dIncludes respondents who had taken a child to the pediatrician in the previous year.

^eHigher scores indicate more reckless behavior.

Discussion

This study should be interpreted in the context of its limitations; like other survey studies, there is potential for recall bias and possible selection bias for more technology-savvy parents, given that the survey was administered online. Millennial parents had higher DDS scores than older parents, demonstrating riskier behavior that is associated with the motor vehicle crash rate. However, texting while driving was common among millennial and older parents. A low proportion of parents said their pediatrician had spoken to them about distracted driving, and few parents used an app to restrict texting while driving; both are areas for potential intervention.