MODELLING THE FACTORS AFFECTING CRASH OCCURRENCE AND FREQUENCY RESULTED FROM MOBILE PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING: EVIDENCE FROM AL-NAJAF, IRAQ.

The recent reports of road traffic accident statistics in Iraq have disclosed a rise in the number of crash injuries resulted from the use of mobile phone while driving. This paper aims to explore the factors contributing to the occurrence and prevalence of such crashes and near crashes in Al-Najaf governorate, Iraq. A representative sample of 417 drivers were interviewed as part of a questionnaire driving survey. Several frequency and modelling analyses were conducted using the IBM SPSS software. The frequency analysis revealed a high use of mobile phones for calling and texting activities while driving. Almost 20% and 55% of the interviewed drivers reported their involvement in a crash or in a near crash because of such use, respectively. Regarding the developed logistic models, the crash involvement sequential regression analysis revealed that factors such gender, education, handheld phoning, calling-answering frequency, and inadequate driving can affect the likelihood of crash occurrence. In contrast, the ordinal logistic near miss models revealed that age, gender, high phone use rate, and improper driving due to such use are influential factors in rising the likelihood of being in multiple near crashes. The analysis results confirm the influence of using phones in distracting the attention of drivers and hence threating their lives; as a result, these findings would be enlightening for agencies and policy makers interested in highway safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]