Much of this attention stems from the enormous increase in cellular telephone use by drivers and the prospect of similar growth in other in-vehicle technologies such as vehicle navigation systems, wireless Internet capabilities, and wireless messaging.Ī growing body of literature addresses the safety implications of cell phones and other wireless in-vehicle technologies. Congress, state legislatures, the media, and the public at large. This second phase of the project involved the collection of naturalistic driving data to document drivers’ exposure to specific distracting events and the effects of these events on driving performance.ĭriver distraction, and its implicit effects on hazard recognition and vehicle control, has been a prominent topic on highway safety agendas, as well as for the U.S. traffic crashes and the specific sources of this distraction ( Stutts, Reinfurt, Staplin and Rodgman, 2001).

The initial phase of the project involved analysis of five years of national Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) data to determine the role of driver distraction in U.S. This paper reports on the second phase of a comprehensive research project examining driver distraction and its contribution to traffic crashes. Although many of the distractions were also associated with negative driving performance outcomes, further research is needed to clarify their impact on driving safety. The most common distractions in terms of overall event durations were eating and drinking (including preparations to eat or drink), distractions inside the vehicle (reaching or looking for an object, manipulating vehicle controls, etc.), and distractions outside the vehicle (often unidentified).

Results were analyzed descriptively and using nonparametric bootstrap analysis techniques. Three hours of randomly selected data per subject were coded based on a taxonomy of driver distractions (talking on cell phone, eating, tuning radio, etc.), contextual variables (whether vehicle stopped or moving, road type, traffic level, etc.) and observable measures of driver performance (eyes directed inside or outside vehicle, hands on or off steering wheel, and vehicle position in travel lane). The camera units automatically recorded a closeup view of the driver’s face, a broader view of the interior of the vehicle, and the roadway immediately ahead of the vehicle whenever it was powered on. To document drivers’ exposure to potential distractions and the effects of these distractions on driving performance, inconspicuous video camera units were mounted in the vehicles of 70 volunteer subjects.

Minton web camera driver