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Am J Crim Just (2015) 40:303316
DOI 10.1007/s12103-014-9249-3
Phillip Neil Quisenberry
Received: 21 January 2014 /Accepted: 21 May 2014 /
Published online: 6 June 2014# Southern Criminal Justice Association 2014
Abstract There has been quite a bit of media attention devoted recently to the topic of distracted driving generally, and texting and driving specifically. Recent studies by scholars, as well as the Department of Transportation, have continued to demonstrate the dangers of texting while driving. Previous studies have found that texting while driving reduces reaction and control times even more than drinking and driving. At least one study found that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash relative to non-distracted drivers. Tougher laws may be alluring as a deterrent to this behavior, but according to the data in this study, 96 % of respondents knew it was against the law but continued to text and drive anyway. This finding casts doubt on the effectiveness of any new distracted driving laws. The general theory of crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) posits that levels of self-control are tied to deviant behaviors such as texting while driving. Other studies have also found that levels of self-control were significantly tied to other dangerous driving behaviors such as driving while drinking and driving without using a seatbelt. The findings in this study add support to the general theory of crime by demonstrating that, among college students in this sample, higher self-control significantly reduces the amount of texting while driving.
Keywords Distracted driving . Texting and driving . Deviance . Self-control . Risky driving . The general theory of crime . Juvenile justice
Distracted driving has always been an issue with drivers, particularly young drivers, but has perhaps never had the attention it now currently receives. Almost daily, there are stories in the mass media about the destruction and death that has been caused by distracted driving. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than 9 people are killed every day in the United States and 1,060 more are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Wilson and Stimpson (2010) have shown that distracted driving
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