Distraction, Experience, and Drivers’ Coping Strategy

The use of modern in-vehicle systems such as satellite navigation while driving can distract drivers and caused safety concerns. Although drivers can adopt strategies to cope with the additional task demand, these are not always apparent or effective, and it is not clear whether increased driving experience would improve this. This paper aims to provide an understanding of the effect of driving experience on the ability to perform in-vehicle tasks, including the impact on performance and visual behavior, and the coping strategies adopted. An on-road experiment was conducted using a set of in vehicle tasks to investigate the behavior and performance of three different driver groups, with experience ranging from less than 10 years to more than 21. The results show that the performance across all driver experience groups deteriorated as a consequence of the extra workload imposed by the in-vehicle tasks, and each group engaged in compensatory behaviors. However, the more experienced drivers performed better in both the driving and in-vehicle tasks, as they were more aware of the impact of these distractions. Furthermore, the most experienced drivers showed the deployment of advanced coping strategies / self-regulation to deal with the dual-tasking situation, which maximized safety with performance, and that prioritized driving over the in-vehicle tasks. These findings are consistent with control-maneuver-strategy behavior theory, i.e. as drivers become better at lower level behavior or vehicle control, they can improve their higher level behavior or awareness, but the highest level of strategic behavior can only be achieved through even greater experience.