Cognitive Distraction
These tasks require mind-off-the-road. Researcher Green found out that the tasks which are not visually demanding like day dreaming or listening to a long speech in phone could increase the probability of crashes. Two different conditions and a control condition were compared with 24 participants actively participating in it [5].
Fig.2.1: Experimental results for cognitive distraction [5]
III. Factors affecting Driver performance and Accident Hazard
Many levels of driver distraction are there depending on how it influences and impacts on the driver performance and accident hazard in different possible manners. Driving performance depends on various interrelated factors: ability of the user, experience of the user, driving task complexity, design and the activities with in-vehicle technologies. Performance of driving are defined in terms of following three measures:
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In a real traffic situation, 15 subjects were tested when performing different tasks using a Driver Information System (DIS).There are 8 various classes in driving. The results can be seen in the above figure 2.3.
Researchers Liang and Lee differentiated the effects of various types of distraction on driving performance in a medium simulator study: visual, cognitive distraction and a combination of both. The results showed that visual distraction more often interferes with driving performance than cognitive one and it dominates the performance during the combination of both. They finally drew in to a conclusion that for an effective driving performance, visual demand and voice interaction are particularly very much important in tackling of above issues. Fig.2.4: Lateral control performance conditions
Next, it is very important to stay focused. There are many distractions while driving. Some of the most common driving distractions are eating, drinking, applying make-up, loud passengers and talking on the phone. You have enough to worry about while driving and should refrain from multi-tasking, as it will be more likely for you to get into an accident. Driving is a full time activity and all attention should remain on the road.
“Distracted driving refers to any nondriving activity that takes motorists ' attention away from the safe operation of their vehicles” (Leone). Every time a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three different types of distraction and plays a part in the increasing issue of distracted driving. Even
Good morning everyone, today we call our world as busy world or multitasks world and with the rush-rush-rush mentality most people have these days; it's no surprise that more and more people are driving while distracted. Eating, talking or texting on a mobile phone, making adjustments to the radio, talking with passengers -- all take a driver's focus off of the road.
204 participants agreed to install video cameras and sensors in their vehicles for thirty-one days in a row, while providing their phone records for analysis. The results from the study showed that driving performance is directly influenced by how well drivers visually attend to the road. This visual attention is required in order to be aware of events as they occur. When the driver is distracted by looking at and manipulating a hands-held phone, their visual attention is substantially affected (NHTSA,
Distracted driving is the leading cause of car accidents in America, followed by speeding, then drunk driving. A study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTAS) found that 80% of car crashes were a direct result of distracted driving. There are three types of distractions for drivers: visual, cognitive, and manual. Cell phone usage whilst driving meets all three criteria for a distracted driver. When a person is using a phone they will take their eyes away from the road to look at the device (visual), they will think about the content of what they are looking at and take their mind off of the road (cognitive), and they will also take their hands off of the wheel to use the device (manual). There are many other reasons that can be attributed to distracted driving, like applying make-up or loud passengers in the car, but cell phone usage is becoming a rapidly growing concern, especially with younger drivers. The NHTAS identified that drivers under the age of 20 make up the highest proportion of distracted drivers that were involved in fatal crashes.
In this article “Distracted Driving”, many distractions are mentioned other than just cell phone usage, such as changing the radio station or driving with kids in the back seat. It is stated that the dangers from distracted driving are because of the decrease in brain function and inability to pay full attention to the road. These practices lead to wrecks and in many cases death.
Behind the wheel, there are many different distractions the driver can face. An online article by LiveScience.com showed an experiment done by the University of Houston and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute in which they put different distraction in different categories. The three categories I read about were Cognitive, Emotional, and Sensorimotor distractions. In the experiment, they asked the participant thought provoking questions, emotion provoking questions, and made them text while driving. They then tested stress levels and all three caused a noticeable amount of stress. This source shows a few different kinds of distractions that anyone can face behind the wheel giving anyone who reads it awareness of these
Distracted driving is becoming the one of the highest causes of fatal accidents in youth. People are becoming more and more dependent on their mobile phones due to the economic and social benefits they provide. With advancement of technology and the more widespread use of smartphones distracted driving is become more dangerous than driving impaired. Driving itself needs full focus and attention with new technologies more focused on making mobile phones more easily compatible with cars it has become increasingly difficult to eliminate the problem cell phones and mobile phones cause when linked to each other. Studies show those using mobile devices while driving are 4-6 times more likely to get into a accident, With the risk so high many cell phone use while driving has been banned in many different countries around the world(fatal distractions). The second alternative is hands-free devices allowing drivers to accept calls, compile and send text messages with ought the use of hands, but using a mobile phone whether it be hands-free or not still hinders performance and deviates the focus of the driver. Car companies have recently countered this issue by implementing new technology in vehicles. For instance, cars now come equipped with built in blue tooth and exceptional pairing applications. This technology leads to inconclusive results of using a hand-held device.
The risks of distracted driving are great and lead to unfathomable results. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), there are three main types of distracted driving. The first is visual - taking your eyes off of the road. The second is manual- taking your hands off of the wheel, and the third is cognitive - taking your mind off of driving (CDCP). While all of these exist amongst distracted drivers, the major distraction for most people is visual and manual. For example, whether an individual is changing the radio or the most common and dangerous thing, texting; particularly because texting involves all three forms. It involves
A distracted driver is anyone who diverts their attention from driving by either talking or texting, talking or performing any other multitasking activity on a mobile device while driving. on a mobile device eitherRegardless if the device is a hand-held hands on or hand-freeoff or multitasking while driving. All distractions are dangerous, but text messaging is the most hazardous because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver (Distraction.govDistracted Driving, 2013). Regardless of the ageage, sex, or expertise of a driver; a distracted driver is a danger to society. When we drive distractedFor the distracted driver, the result is the same, and it is just an accident waiting to happen. The fact is that, and the growing number of life changing accidents is inis on the rise. This practice does not only affect the driver but “all distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety” (Distracted Driving, 2013).
The use of pulling a phone out while driving , particularly for texting and during phone to ear conversations , cause visual , manual and cognitive distraction (Thompson 4 ). When drivers pull out their phones they are taking more than 50% of their attention away from the roads, for example some
“A distracted driver may fail to see up to 50% of the available information in the driving environment. You may look but not actually “see” what is happening. Focus of the driver is not on the road or traffic and it becomes difficult to handle phone and vehicle at one time. Cell phones during driving also reduce the mental capacity of drivers as they fail to concentrate on minor or major activities happening around them. Cell phones distract drivers' attention resulting in comparatively slow response to traffic signals and other related traffic events. Studies have shown the fact that breaking reaction time is also slower while talking on a cell phone during driving. The perception, vision, general awareness, and concentration of the driver are impacted while communicating on a cell phone during driving. Especially during bad weather or driving on slippery roads, drivers engaging in conversation pay less attention to these areas increasing risks of fatal accidents.
Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States. It is starting to be considered as serious as drunk driving based on the dangerous outcomes. According to the Department of Transportation (2012), “distracted driving was a cause of roughly 450,000 accident-related injuries and nearly 5,500 fatalities in 2009 alone” (para. 1). Drivers who allow themselves to become distracted while driving are not only endangering themselves, but other innocent bystanders.
Studies conducted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that using a cell phone while driving significantly impairs a driver’s reaction time and triples the risk of being involved in a crash or near-crash, and text messaging increases crash risk by a multiple of 8 for all ages (NHTSA, 2009). Situational awareness is significantly decreased while engaging in distracted driving, and in turn inattention blindness is increased drastically creating a potentially deadly situation on the roads. A driver who is multitasking has less brain function available and thus literally fails to see or pay attention to things that are squarely in the field of vision (Texting and Driving, 2010). On the other hand there are those that may be able to multitask successfully though the challenge is
Nowosielski, R. J., Trick, L. M., & Toxopeus, R. (2018). Good distractions: Testing the effects of listening to an audiobook on driving performance in simple and complex road environments. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 111, 202-209. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2017.11.033 Distracted driving is usually considered to using cell phones, eating, drinking, conversing with passengers or listening to music or audiobooks.