[Mobile phone use while driving in Florence health district area]

(Utilizzo del telefono cellulare alla guida: l'esperienza fiorentina.)

Full Abstract

The practice of driving while using hand-held mobile phones is diffused in numerous countries, even though it has been demonstrated that they increase the risk of traffic accidents, and such use has consequently been prohibited. Because of the lack of Italian data on the spread of this behaviour a study was done in June 2004 on drivers' use of hand-held mobile phones in the Florence Health Authority area. The study was performed by direct observation from 4 watching-points (1 for each zone) which allowed for observation of several types of vehicles, on varying road conditions, in 5 hour time bands. Overall, 9387 vehicles were observed and the prevalence of mobile phone use while driving was found to be 1.8%. The greatest prevalence of mobile phone use was found in the following conditions:
in the Northwest zone (2.8%), in the city suburbs (2.8%), on Tuesdays (3.0%), among drivers not using safety belts (3.0%), and among subjects driving alone (2.1%). Logistic regression analysis has shown a statistically significant association between mobile phone use and the zone, the number of persons in the vehicle, and seat belt use. Mobile phone use while driving is therefore a diffused practice that is particularly common among drivers who engage in other high-risk driving behaviours.

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Author information

Author/s: Lorini, C (C); Bonaccorsi, G (G); Mersi, A (A); Baroncini, O (O); Ciampi, G (G); Boddi, V (V); Santini, M G (MG); Comodo, N (N);

Affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Firenze. chiara.lorini(-atsign-)unifi.it

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; English Abstract; Journal Article

Journal: Annali di igiene : medicina preventiva e di comunità (Ann Ig), published in Italy. (Language: ita)

Reference: -2006 Jul-Aug; vol 18 (issue 4) : pp 349-56

Dates: Created 2006/10/26; Completed 2006/11/13; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 17063634, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control
Automobile Driving
Cellular Phone - utilization
Humans
Italy

Logistic Models
Observation
Prevalence
Risk-Taking
Seat Belts - utilization

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