Prevalence of secondary tasks engagement while driving in selected districts in Selangor.

Road traffic injuries remain a major public health concern in Malaysia. Among the leading human-related factors contributing to road crashes is driver distraction, particularly in the form of secondary task engagement. This refers to any activity that diverts a driver's attention from the primary task of driving. Despite widespread global research on the issue, empirical evidence from real-world observational studies in Malaysia is limited. This study addresses this gap by conducting an observational investigation into secondary task engagement among drivers in two high-fatality districts in Selangor, namely Kajang and Kuala Selangor. The study was guided by three main objectives: (1) to measure the prevalence of observable secondary task engagement while driving in the selected districts; (2) to identify and categorize the different types of secondary task engagement; and (3) to examine whether the frequency of these behaviours is associated with various driver and road-related characteristics, including gender, age group, vehicle type, observation time (peak or off-peak), road location (urban or rural), and road geometry (straight or intersection).