On July 9, 2021, Continental Group, a technology company, joined hands with non-profit organizations and Zhongzeyi Shanghai to jointly publish the White Paper on Distraction and Traffic Accidents of Chinese Youth from 2018 to 2020, showing the research results that lasted for three years. Continental Group is a leading enterprise in the automotive industry to conduct in-depth investigation and research on the subdivision of "travel safety", a hot social issue. The research results not only fit the action plan of reducing road traffic casualties in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, but also respond to the sustainable development strategies of governments at all levels on promoting road traffic safety and strengthening road traffic safety governance and publicity and education. The research report further provides certain reference significance and data support for the automotive industry to improve safety technical standards and promote the development and popularization of intelligent driving.
Continental knows that road traffic safety has become an important issue of common concern all over the world. Therefore, Continental launched the "Safe Driving I Promise" youth safe driving training program as early as 10 years ago. With the sustainable project system, advancing knowledge and data and adopting the communication mechanism of "training volunteer trainers", the company continues to popularize road safety behaviors, actively promote safe driving and correct driving habits, and help reduce road traffic casualties.
Mr. Tang En, President and CEO of Continental China, said: "Continental released its sustainable development strategy in December 2020 and is committed to becoming a new benchmark in the industry. As one of the important links of the sustainable development strategy, Continental actively practices its corporate social responsibility obligations and helps spread the concept of safe driving. We also hope to call on the whole industry to pay attention to the discussion of driving safety at the social and technical levels, and work together with colleagues in the automobile and travel industries to create a sustainable and beautiful trip for China with technology, products and services. "
The research results of the White Paper on Distraction and Traffic Accidents released today provide data-based guidance for promoting young people's awareness of road safety through cross-time research data comparison. At the same time, Continental is also committed to developing and providing high-quality products and technologies to increase vehicle safety and reduce potential safety problems caused by distraction. For example, Continental's cockpit monitoring system can monitor drivers' attention, fully understand the status and needs of drivers and passengers, and ensure driving safety.
Although road traffic accidents in China have dropped significantly in recent years, they are still high. At present, the annual death toll from road traffic accidents in China still ranks second in the world. According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 issued by the World Health Organization, road traffic accidents are the main killers of children and young people aged 5-29. According to the World Health Organization, if effective measures are not taken, road traffic injuries will rank fifth among the top ten causes of death in the world by 2030. Focus on road safety action.
Driven by modern technology, with the increasingly rich structure, functions and positioning of automobiles, and the rapid development of mobile communication equipment, there are more and more factors that induce distracted driving behavior, and distracted driving behavior has gradually become one of the important factors that cause traffic accidents, which has aroused widespread concern at the global level. As the largest automobile market in the world, China is also facing the challenges of road safety and distraction in driving. Continental Group and Hezhong Zeyi jointly issued the White Paper on Distraction and Traffic Accidents of Chinese Youth in 2018-2020, which aims to comb and analyze the cognition, attitude and behavior of young drivers (aged 18-34) on the current situation of distraction and traffic accidents and driving distraction across time and region, so as to continuously promote the attention of all sectors of society on road safety and help realize sustainable travel.
In the past three years, through the investigation of 9982 young drivers from different regions and combined with literature research experience, it shows that the influence of inattention on young drivers' traffic accidents (including friction and slight collision) needs great attention from all walks of life. According to the survey results in 2020, 74.32% of respondents who have had traffic accidents think that "inattention" is the main cause of accidents, accounting for the highest proportion, followed by "complicated road conditions", accounting for 45.9%. The white paper also shows that more than 70% of young drivers are distracted while driving, especially those who used to use communication tools (such as phone, WeChat and other mobile apps) accounted for 82.18%. According to the survey results in 2020, as many as 62.6% of the respondents were talking on the phone while driving. In the three-year survey group, most people use mobile phones to talk within 1 minute during driving. Through three-year investigation and data analysis, the longer the time spent checking the mobile phone, the more traffic accidents occur. The average number of traffic accidents increased obviously after a single call took more than 20 seconds. The research conclusion of the white paper on young drivers' distraction behavior further verifies many related studies at home and abroad, that is, when using telephone (including hands-free function) while driving, the scope, accuracy, speed and frequency of drivers' visual search will decrease, while the possibility of accidents will increase about four times. [Duan Jiyang, Li Zhizhong. A summary of the research on the influencing factors of risky driving behavior [J]. Ergonomics, 2013,19(02):86-91.] After the driver answers the phone for 1 minute (including using hands-free function), the driver will miss 40% of the traffic signs, and his average driving speed will decrease by 12%, his heart rate will accelerate, and his response will be even greater.
On the trend development of distraction behavior, cognition and avoidance consciousness of young drivers, the comparison of three-year data shows that the higher the awareness of the danger of distraction behavior, the lower the frequency of distraction behavior when driving. With the strengthening of national road traffic safety enforcement and publicity and education, young drivers' awareness of the dangers of distracting behavior while driving and the incidence of traffic accidents are on the whole showing a good trend. However, in the interview survey, it is found that some young drivers still think that distraction is inevitable. This leads young drivers to classify distraction behavior as an external factor. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in young drivers' avoidance awareness.
Dr. Wang Zhongping, co-sponsor of the research report and founder of Zhongzeyi, said: "As a responsible corporate citizen, Continental has launched a youth safe driving training program, which is an innovative model of corporate social responsibility worthy of promotion and reference. I'm glad to join hands with Continental Group since 2018. Through the research advantages and social resources of Zhongzeyi in the field of enterprise sustainable development, we strive to more accurately describe the relationship and influencing factors between distraction of Chinese young drivers and traffic accidents, and propose corresponding improvement measures to spread the concept of safe driving to a wider crowd. At the same time, as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting social problem solving, I am also very grateful to the Continental Group for its efforts and contributions in promoting sustainable development. "
