Distraction Study Phases I and II

1. Distraction StudyPhases I and II

2. Published May 2001 Prepared by UNC-CH Highway Safety Research Center

3. Managing Driver Distraction Why Don’t We All Keep Our Eyes on the Road and Our Minds on Driving?

4. Types of Distraction • Visual • Auditory • Physical • Cognitive

5. What Do We Mean by “Driver Distraction”? Distraction happens when a driver is slow to recognize a potential hazard because something inside or outside the vehicle draws the driver’s attention away from the road.

6. How Do Distractions Affect Driving Ability? • Drivers react more slowly • Drivers often fail to recognize potential hazards • Drivers reduce their “margin of safety”

7. Magnitude of The Problem Research suggests 25% of crashes are distraction-related Social and economic costs for these crashes approach an estimated $40 billion annually

8. AAA Foundation Began a Two-Part Study in 1999

9. Overall Study Goal To identify, using both crash and field data, the major sources of driver distraction that result in crashes and near misses, and to understand the relative importance of these distracters.

10. Project Tasks • Analysis of 1995-1999 CDS crash data • Analysis of narrative data from the CDS and North Carolina crash reports • Collection and analysis of real-world driving data to determine the frequency and severity of driving distractions

11. Part I Examining Crash Data

12. “Mining” Existing Data • Analysis of 1995-1999 crash data • Analysis of crash reports

13. National Accident Sampling SystemCrashworthiness Data System • Annual probability sample of 5,000 police-reported crashes • Based on passenger vehicles towed from the scene or with airbag deployed • Professional crash investigators examine vehicles, drivers, witnesses

14. Some Examples From Police Crash Reports: • Driver stated he was on his cell phone and writing down some notes. Due to this he never saw the red light which he ran causing the collision. • Driver states she reached down in the floor of her vehicle to pick up the CD player and when she looked up everyone was stopped.

15. More Examples From Police Crash Reports. . . . • Vehicle 1 was stopped. Driver took his foot off the brake to light a cigarette and struck Vehicle 2 in the rear. • Vehicle 1 had a drink which started to spill so the driver tried to grab the drink, causing her to turn off the road to the right and strike a fire hydrant. • Driver of Vehicle 3 had taken his attention from traffic ahead to obtain a map out of his glove box. He did not observe traffic slowing and this caused (the accident).

16. Driver Attention Status of Crash-involved Vehicles Weighted 1995-1999 CDS Data

17. Percent of Drivers in Crashes Who are Distracted

18. What Distracts Drivers?

19. Nature of Distraction By Age of Driver

20. Phase I Conclusions • Old and new sources of driver distraction • Difficulty collecting good data - potential reporting biases • Need for further research • Laboratory, crash, and observation studies • How common are various distractions • Increase public education (include novice drivers) • Role of legislation is still being debated

21. Part II In-Vehicle Observation Data

22. Phase II - On-road driving data • Installed video recording equipment in cars of volunteer subjects • 2 sites - North Carolina, Pennsylvania • 70 subjects total • 5 age categories, equal male & female • Coded 3 hours from 1 week of data per subject, using VideoPro software

23. Research Questions • How often drivers engage in behaviors that might be distracting • Under what conditions drivers engage in such behaviors • Differences among drivers by age and gender • Relative severity of consequences of these behaviors

24. Camera

25. Camera Unit

26. Recording unit

27. Coding Video Data

28. Cell phone / pager Eating / drinking Radio / tape / CD Smoking Other occupants Reading Grooming External events Internal events Taxonomy of Driver Distractions

29. Occupants in vehicle (number, age) Light conditions (light, gray, dark) Weather conditions (good, bad) Travel lanes Traffic level (light, moderate, heavy) Intersection Vehicle movement (stopped, moving) Vehicle turning Contextual Variables

30. Hands on steering wheel Eyes on roadway/driving task Vehicle position in travel lane Sudden braking Outcome Measures . . . But no measure of cognitive demand

31. VideoPro Coding

32. Sample Coding Output

33. Using cell phone Eating/drinking/preparing Manipulating radio, etc. Reading Grooming Smoking Other occupant Conversing Internal distraction External distraction 34.3 71.4 91.4 40.0 45.7 7.1 38.0 77.1 100.0 85.7 Frequencies of Distractions While Driving % of Subjects % of Total Driving Time 1.3 4.6 1.4 0.7 0.3 1.6 0.9 15.3 3.8 1.6

34. % of Subjects Affected by a Potential Distraction When Vehicle Was Moving

35. % of Total Time While Driving Engaged in a Potentially Distracting Activity

36. Cell Phone Use

37. % of Time Vehicle Stopped When Using Cell Phone

38. Cell Phone Use Effects on Driving Performance ** ** * * p < .05 **p < .01

39. Eating and Drinking Effectson Driving Performance * * ** **

40. Music/Audio Effects on Driving Performance ** *

41. Other Occupant Effects on Driving Performance

42. Smoking Effects onDriving Performance * *

43. Conclusions: Need to learn how to safely manage everyday distractions before introducing new technologies into our vehicles There are many distractions Distractions can be deadly

44. Stay Focused - Keep Your Mind on the Road

45. Published report available at:www.aaafoundation.org It’s not always easy to stay focused and keep your eyes on the road

46. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is a 501(c)(3) public charity located in Washington, DC that is dedicated to research and education about the causes of traffic crashes. It is supported by donations from AAA/CAA Clubs, AAA/CAA members, and other organizations associated with the American Automobile Association/Canadian Automobile Association.