United States Department of Transportation
i
Assessing the Impact of Driving Simulator Experience on the Reduction of Cell-Phone Distraction Among Adult Drivers
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2016-06-01
[PDF-553.32 KB]
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TRIS Online Accession Number:01625816
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Abstract:Use of electronic devices, especially cell phones while driving, is causing havoc on US highways. USDOT reports over 5000 fatalities due to driver inattention; a vast majority of inattention is due to cell phone use. Research shows that one specific use of cell phone “Texting While Driving’ causes longer inattention thus more dangerous. Young and adult drivers alike are increasingly using cell phones for various activities while driving. Majority of states and localities in US have enacted rules which putting have some kind of restrictions on Texting While Driving. Besides law enforcement, educational and/or public service efforts are also being made to curb Texting While Driving and other cell phone usage. This research is address one of the issues in educational efforts. Main objectives of the research were (1) to measure impact of driving simulation experience on attitude of adult drivers towards cell phone usage during driving (2) to measure the differences in change in safety perception of cell use after education based on drivers’ and other characteristics. A field experiment was designed to investigate these two objectives. This experiment was conducted in a medium size City the Commonwealth of Virginia. 100 randomly selected adult drivers participated in the study. Experiment was conducted using an in-vehicle driving simulator. During the experiment, simulated driving, drivers were asked to use cell phone as they would normally use while driving their own vehicle. During simulation, participants saw reduction/changes in the driving performance on the simulator screen while they are engaged in the cell phone related activities. These changes included slowing down, crossing over a lane, jumping red lights, crashing vehicle, etc. Two different survey instruments were administered to drivers, one before and one after their experience in the driving simulator. The drivers were expected to modify her/his perception towards cell phone usage after visualizing impairment/reduction in driving performance caused by the cell phone usages during driving. About 91% of drivers reported using cell phone for various activities including texting, emailing, searching for directions, etc. Majority of drivers also reported using using cell phone often while driving. 70% of more drivers reported that they follow traffic rules, follow speed limits and are generally consider themselves a safe driver.
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