Is the Technology in Your Car Driving You to Distraction?

Abstract

Driver distraction is increasingly recognized as a significant source of injuries and fatalities on the roadway. Distraction can arise from visual/manual interference, for example, when a driver takes his or her eyes off the road to interact with a device. Impairments also come from cognitive sources of distraction when attention is withdrawn from the processing of information necessary for the safe operation of a motor vehicle. In the latter case, the driver’s eyes may be on the roadway and his or her hands on the steering wheel, but he or she may not be attending to the information critical for safe driving. Concern over distracted driving is growing as more and more wireless devices are being integrated into the vehicle. We developed and validated a metric of distraction associated with the diversion of attention from driving. Our studies show that the distraction potential can be reliably measured, that cognitive workload systematically varies as a function of the secondary task performed by the driver, and that some activities, particularly newer voice-based interactions in the vehicle, are associated with surprisingly high levels of mental workload. Changing the culture of distracted driving will require a combination of scientifically based education concerning the hazards of inattention, regulations that target the root causes of distraction, and enforcement of the distracted driving laws.