Naturalistic Driving Study: Collecting Data on Cell Phone Use

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-S06-RW-2: Naturalistic Driving Study: Collecting Data on Cell Phone Use details the methodology used to acquire cell phone use records from a subset of participants in the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) during the time when they were enrolled in the study. The cell phone records were then matched with participants’ NDS driving data to identify the times while they were driving when they may have been using their cell phones.

The report is designed to provide researchers with information about the Cell Phone Records Study (CPRS) data and how the data were collected. The report describes the methods used to recruit and enroll CPRS participants, the collaboration with the cell phone carriers, and the processes of obtaining data from the carriers and directly from the participants. It also provides summary information on the data collected and addresses some limitations of the data.