Is distraction on the road associated with maladaptive mobile phone use? A systematic review

Maladaptive Mobile Phone Use (MMPU) (also known as Smartphone Addiction, Nomophobia, Fear of Missing Out, or Problematic Mobile Phone Use) is a growing mental health problem. However, the health and safety consequences of MMPU remain unexplored in many real-life contexts. A potential setting where MMPU may have some negative repercussions is on...

External and internal influences on mobile phone use while driving: Combining the theories of deterrence and self-determination

Objectives: Various legal countermeasures have been introduced in numerous jurisdictions worldwide to reduce the risky behaviour of phone use while driving. However, external factors do not influence behaviour alone; internal factors may also play a large role in influencing behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impact...

“It is a different type of policing than in the bush”: Police officers’ perceptions of the differences in enforcement of the phone use while driving legislation in rural and urban areas

Mobile phone use while driving continues to be a significant road safety concern, despite the severe legal countermeasures to reduce this behaviour. Phone use while driving-related crashes have been demonstrated to be an issue in rural areas, yet research into the impact of legal sanctions on phone use while driving has primarily focussed on...

Police and public perspectives on the use and impacts of technology that expose enforcement locations for phone use while driving

Avoiding being caught and punished has consistently been demonstrated to be a key predictor of continued engagement in risky and illegal phone use while driving. This is a large concern, as the presence of applications such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, and social media pages/groups that share the location of enforcement activities related...