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 | |
|---|---|
Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey Volume 3: Child Passenger Safety ReportThe 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey used address-based sampling with a multi-mode methodology to produce nationally representative estimates of self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge related to various motor vehicle occupant safety topics among United States adults 18 and older. This volume is third in a series of four volumes describing the survey and the results and discusses findings about child passenger systems and how people use car seats, booster seats and seat belts for children up to age 12. The other MVOSS reports are Volume 1: Methodology Report; Volume 2: Seat Belt Report; and Volume 4: Emergency Medical Services, Crash Injury Experience, and Other Traffic Safety Topics. |
DOT HS 812 913 |
2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey Volume #1: Methodology ReportThe 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS) used address-based sampling with a multi-mode methodology to produce nationally representative estimates of self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge related to various motor vehicle occupant safety topics among United States adults 18 years and older. The current report is the first in a series of four volumes describing the survey and the results: Volume 1: Methodology Report; Volume 2: Seat Belt Report; Volume 3: Child Passenger Safety Report; and Volume 4: Emergency Medical Services, Crash Injury Experience, and Other Traffic Safety Topics Report. |
DOT HS 812 851 |
Analysis of SHRP 2 Speeding Data - Findings ReportThis report is a companion report to the Findings Report from the same study (Richard, Lee, Brown, & Landgraf, in press) and describes the methodologies and datasets used to prepare a set of data reductions that supported analyses of speeding behavior. It is a guide to insights for researchers navigating Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) data acquisition and processing. It focuses on methods used to obtain and process trip time-series data, prepare data reductions to extract free-flow episodes and extract speeding episodes. The workflow for preparing the data reductions consisted of three components: data acquisition, data management, and data processing. Lessons learned during the conduct of the research are provided. |
DOT HS 812 858 |
Analysis of SHRP2 Speeding Data: Methods Used to Conduct the ResearchThis report is a companion report to the Findings Report from the same study (Richard, Lee, Brown, & Landgraf, in press) and describes the methodologies and datasets used to prepare a set of data reductions that supported analyses of speeding behavior. It is a guide to insights for researchers navigating Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) data acquisition and processing. It focuses on methods used to obtain and process trip time-series data, prepare data reductions to extract free-flow episodes and extract speeding episodes. The workflow for preparing the data reductions consisted of three components: data acquisition, data management, and data processing. Lessons learned during the conduct of the research are provided. |
DOT HS 812 793 |
Characteristics and Predictors of Occasional Seat Belt Use using Strategic Highway Research Program 2 DataDespite the recent trend towards higher national seat belt use rates, NHTSA estimates that 10 percent of drivers still only use seat belts occasionally. This study examined occasional seat belt use among participants in the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study. Its exploratory research had the objectives of identifying factors that differentiate seat belt user groups, and identifying impact of situational factors in seat belt use patterns of occasional seat belt users. Seat belt use data was available for 895 SHRP2 participants, and researchers examined belt use within and across each driver’s trips. Two types of occasional seat belt users were those who made pre-trip decisions to buckle or not buckled for the entire trip, and those who made a within-trip decision to buckle or unbuckle for part of the trip. |
DOT HS 812 840 |
The 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey: Emergency Medical ServicesThis Traffic Tech discusses emergency medical services (EMS) results from the 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey of 12,000 people that included 32 questions about EMS. The results f demonstrated the strong link between EMS and motor vehicle crashes and the high degree to which the public values and trusts EMS clinicians. Nearly all (99%) respondents reported confidence in EMS clinicians. |
DOT HS 812 870 |
2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, Volume #4: Emergency Medical Services, Crash Injury Experience, and Other Traffic Safety TopicsThis report is the fourth of four reports describing the results of the 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, which used address-based sampling with multi-mode methodology to produce nationally representative estimates of self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge related to motor vehicle occupant safety topics among adults 18 and older. Volume #4 covers EMS, crash injury experience, and other traffic safety topics. |
DOT HS 812 788 |
Characterizing Ambulance Driver Training in EMSThis project characterized ambulance operator education and training across the United States through discussions with personnel in State EMS offices and through an Internet-based survey of local EMS agencies to determine their operator training and supervision practices. The study also examined selected existing ambulance Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC) training programs to determine their content and consistency with the state-of-the-art |
DOT HS 812 862 |
Fatigue in Emergency Medical Services SystemsThis project produced five evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) for fatigue risk management tailored to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations using the National Prehospital EBG Model Process and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology. (1) Fatigue/sleepiness surveys measure and monitor fatigue in EMS personnel; (2) EMS personnel work shifts shorter than 24 hours; (3) EMS personnel have access to caffeine; (4) EMS personnel have the opportunity to nap while on duty; (5) EMS personnel receive education and training to mitigate fatigue and fatigue-related risks. Every minute more than 35 patients are transported in ambulances to hospitals; there are an average of 4,500 crashes involving ambulances a year, resulting in an average of 33 deaths annually. More than half of EMS personnel report fatigue or poor sleep, with two times the odds of injury and medical error among fatigued EMS personnel. |
DOT HS 812 767 |
2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey: Volume 1, Methodology ReportThe 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey used address-based sampling with a multi-mode methodology to produce nationally representative estimates of self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge related to various motor vehicle occupant safety topics among United States adults 18 and older. This volume is third in a series of four volumes describing the survey and the results and discusses findings about child passenger systems and how people use car seats, booster seats and seat belts for children up to age 12. The other MVOSS reports are Volume 1: Methodology Report; Volume 2: Seat Belt Report; and Volume 4: Emergency Medical Services, Crash Injury Experience, and Other Traffic Safety Topics. |
DOT HS 812 851 |