Distracted driving in relation to risky road behaviors and traffic crashes in Bogota, Colombia

The growing evidence on road distraction during the recent years has shown how road distractions might be playing a relevant role on traffic crash causation. However, the empirical insights about how it works in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) are really limited so far. The case of Colombian non-professional drivers remains virtually unexplored on this regard. This research aims to assess the effect of road distractions, driving related issues and road behaviors on the self-reported crashes suffered by drivers in Bogot'a, Colombia. To do so, a sample of 659 drivers (64% males and 36% females) with a mean age of 37.9 years (SD = 11.7) was gathered, who answered an online survey on road distractions, behaviors and self-reported crash history. Most of the distracting sources reported were found to be rather common among most of the drivers, even though only a few gender differences were found. Structural Equation Models show that there is a significant effect of road distractions on drivers' self-reported crash rates and that young adults are more prone to incur in these behaviors as a consequence thereof. These findings support the design of safety interventions that focus on mitigating the risk of being distracted. In the same vein, authorities should increase the efforts to enforce ICT-related laws while driving, thus contributing to reduce the prevalence and impact of distracting sources while driving.