Dr. Kenneth Beck, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, has developed an online survey for Maryland residents to share their concerns and attitudes toward traffic safety. The survey, which Marylanders can take by logging onto www.marylanddriversurvey.com, launched on Wednesday, July 1. Dr. Beck, an expert in traffic safety and injury prevention, developed the survey in collaboration with Maryland’s Department of Transportation, Maryland State Highway Administration’s Safety Office.

The survey is part of an ongoing effort to monitor public beliefs, concerns, and behaviors of Maryland motorists regarding traffic safety issues, especially at the local level, according to the official statement.

"The highway safety concerns for large metropolitan communities, such as Montgomery or Prince George’s county, are likely to be different than from smaller or more rural communities, or even counties on the Eastern Shore," Dr. Beck said in the statement, adding that "the survey and its results will help localize and define the needs and issues of their county."

With over 2,600 people taking the survey last year, the results showed that over 62 percent of the respondents were concerned about speeding and aggressive driving in their community. Over 50 percent were concerned about people who use cell phones while driving, yet almost 75 percent reported using a cell phone at least once when they drove in the last month.

In addition to developing this survey program, Dr. Beck has studied traffic safety and transportation in a variety of areas, including evaluating the effectiveness of Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlocks at preventing impaired driving and investigating the relationship between parental monitoring practices and teenage alcohol problem involvement with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

If you are a resident of Maryland, you are invited to complete the survey at www.marylanddriversurvey.com. For more information about the University of Maryland School of Public Health, please visit http://sph.umd.edu.