Cognitive Distraction While Driving: A Critical Review of Definitions and Prevalence in Crashes

There is little agreement in the field of driving safety as to how to define cognitive distraction, much less how to measure it. Without a definition and metric, it is impossible to make scientific and engineering progress on determining the extent to which cognitive distraction causes crashes, and ways to mitigate it if it does. We show here that different studies are inconsistent in their definitions of cognitive distraction. For example, some definitions do not include cellular conversation, while others do. Some definitions confound cognitive distraction with visual distraction, or cognitive distraction with cognitive workload. Other studies define cognitive distraction in terms of a state of the driver, and others in terms of tasks that may distract the driver. It is little wonder that some studies find that cognitive distraction is a negligible factor in causing crashes, while others assert that cognitive distraction causes more crashes than drunk driving. Perhaps the largest problem however is that the definitions typically refer to distraction as a reduction of attention, but never define attention. It is recommended that a new definition of cognitive distraction be created, based on observational data of actual rather than simulated driving. This definition should have associated with it a clear metric for assessing the amount of cognitive distraction for a wide range of tasks, involving different sensory and motor modalities (visual-manual, auditory-vocal, tactile, etc.) A new foundation, grounded in on-road driving data and the experimental study of attention within cognitive neuroscience, may improve the speed at which new and effective countermeasures are developed, crashes are reduced, and driving safety is improved for all. Keywords: Driver distraction; Language: en

[1]  Trent Victor,et al.  Distraction Assessment Methods Based on Visual Behavior and Event Detection , 2009 .

[2]  Melinda S. Jensen,et al.  Change blindness and inattentional blindness. , 2011, Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science.

[3]  A.R.A. van der Horst,et al.  The Peripheral Detection Task (PDT) : On-line measurement of driver cognitive workload and selective attention , 2010 .

[4]  J Engstroem,et al.  SafeTE final report , 2007 .

[5]  Mai-Britt Herslund,et al.  Looked-but-failed-to-see-errors in traffic. , 2003, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[6]  Linda Angell,et al.  The Distracted Driver: Mechanisms, Models, and Measurement , 2011 .

[7]  Jeff K Caird,et al.  A meta-analysis of the effects of cell phones on driver performance. , 2008, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  Katja Kircher,et al.  Driver distraction : a review of the literature , 2007 .

[9]  John R. Treat,et al.  A study of precrash factors involved in traffic accidents , 1980 .

[10]  William J. Broad.  Lost in Thought. , 1978 .

[11]  Richard J. Hanowski,et al.  Driver Distraction in Commercial Vehicle Operations , 2009 .

[12]  Li Hsieh,et al.  Mind-on-the-drive : Real-time functional neuroimaging of cognitive brain mechanisms underlying driver performance and distraction , 2005 .

[13]  C. Owsley,et al.  The useful field of view test: a new technique for evaluating age-related declines in visual function. , 1993, Journal of the American Optometric Association.

[14]  Miquel Porta,et al.  A Dictionary of Epidemiology , 2008 .

[15]  Martin Langham,et al.  An analysis of 'looked but failed to see' accidents involving parked police vehicles , 2002, Ergonomics.

[16]  W. James,et al.  The Principles of Psychology. , 1983 .

[17]  Li Hsieh,et al.  Conversation effects on neural mechanisms underlying reaction time to visual events while viewing a driving scene using MEG , 2009, Brain Research.

[18]  Marieke Hendrikje Martens,et al.  Measuring distraction: the Peripheral Detection Task , 2000 .

[19]  I D Brown,et al.  A REVIEW OF THE 'LOOKED BUT FAILED TO SEE' ACCIDENT CAUSATION FACTOR , 2002 .

[20]  Gary L. Rupp,et al.  Performance Metrics for Assessing Driver Distraction: The Quest for Improved Road Safety , 2011 .

[21]  K. Ball,et al.  Visual attention problems as a predictor of vehicle crashes in older drivers. , 1993, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[22]  Ronald M. Lesperance,et al.  The Gaussian derivative model for spatial-temporal vision: II. Cortical data. , 2001, Spatial vision.

[23]  Charles J. Duffy,et al.  Distinct visual motion processing impairments in aging and Alzheimer’s disease , 2011, Vision Research.

[24]  F Streff,et al.  DRIVER DISTRACTION, AGGRESSION, AND FATIGUE: A SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE AND GUIDELINES FOR MICHIGAN PLANNING , 2000 .

[25]  Javier Roca,et al.  Attentional Networks Functioning, Age, and Attentional Lapses While Driving , 2011, Traffic injury prevention.

[26]  M. Woodward,et al.  Systematic review and meta-analysis of strategies for the diagnosis of suspected pulmonary embolism , 2005, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[27]  I..  THE ATTENTION SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN BRAIN , 2002 .

[28]  Michael J. Goodman,et al.  The role of driver inattention in crashes: new statistics from the 1995 crashworthiness data system , 1996 .

[29]  Dot Hs,et al.  National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey , 2008 .

[30]  Ann Williamson,et al.  The Relationship Between Driver Fatigue and Driver Distraction , 2009 .

[31]  Li Hsieh,et al.  Conversation effects on neural mechanisms underlying reaction time to visual events while viewing a driving scene: fMRI analysis and asynchrony model , 2009, Brain Research.

[32]  Michael J. Goodman,et al.  NHTSA DRIVER DISTRACTION RESEARCH: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE , 2001 .

[33]  Jason S. McCarley,et al.  Identifying Mind-wandering behind the Wheel , 2009 .

[34]  Elizabeth N. Mazzae,et al.  Measuring Distraction Potential of Operating In-Vehicle Devices , 2009 .

[35]  M. Posner,et al.  Topics in Integrative Neuroscience: Attention as an organ system , 2008 .

[36]  Thomas A. Dingus,et al.  The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Phase II – Results of the 100-Car Field Experiment , 2006 .

[37]  T. Ranney.  Driver Distraction : A Review of the Current State-of-Knowledge , 2008 .

[38]  Sylvain Gagnon,et al.  Near peripheral motion detection threshold correlates with self-reported failures of attention in younger and older drivers. , 2010, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[39]  Charlene Hallett,et al.  Driver distraction and driver inattention: definition, relationship and taxonomy. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[40]  R. Tibshirani,et al.  Association between cellular-telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions. , 1997, The New England journal of medicine.

[41]  J D Chovan,et al.  EXAMINATION OF UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTION, STRAIGHT CROSSING PATH CRASHES AND POTENTIAL IVHS COUNTERMEASURES. FINAL REPORT , 1994 .

[42]  Linda Angell,et al.  The Dimensions of Driver Performance during Secondary Manual Tasks , 2005 .

[43]  Langham Mp.  An investigation of the role of vehicle conspicuity in the 'looked but failed to see' error in driving. , 1999 .

[44]  David L. Strayer,et al.  Cell Phones and Driver Distraction: (515782007-001) , 2006 .

[45]  Michael J. Goodman,et al.  NHTSA's Research Program on Wireless Phone Driver Interface Effects , 2005 .

[46]  Oskar Juhlin,et al.  Drivers Using Mobile Phones in Traffic: An Ethnographic Study of Interactional Adaptation , 2007, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[47]  Barry H. Kantowitz,et al.  Mental Workload , 2020, Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine.

[48]  T A Ramney,et al.  Driver distraction: a review of the current state-of-the-knowledge , 2008 .

[49]  Kenneth W. Gish,et al.  DISTRACTIONS IN EVERYDAY DRIVING , 2003 .

[50]  M. A. Recarte,et al.  Mental workload while driving: effects on visual search, discrimination, and decision making. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[51]  Ronald M. Lesperance,et al.  The Gaussian derivative model for spatial-temporal vision: I. Cortical model. , 2001, Spatial vision.

[52]  Frank A. Drews,et al.  FATAL DISTRACTION? A COMPARISON OF THE CELL-PHONE DRIVER AND THE DRUNK DRIVER , 2005 .

[53]  Rebecca L Olson,et al.  Distraction in Commercial Trucks and Buses: Assessing Prevalence and Risk in Conjunction with Crashes and Near-Crashes , 2009 .

[54]  P Fancher.  POTENTIAL SAFETY APPLICATIONS OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY , 1994 .

[55]  Oskar Juhlin,et al.  COMBINING MOBILE PHONE CONVERSATIONS AND DRIVING – STUDYING A MUNDANE ACTIVITY IN ITS NATURALISTIC SETTING , 2003 .

[56]  Elizabeth N. Mazzae,et al.  Characteristics of Voice-Based Interfaces for In-Vehicle Systems and Their Effects on Driving Performance , 2007 .

[57]  J. Last,et al.  Making the Dictionary of Epidemiology. , 1996, International journal of epidemiology.

[58]  Christopher Schreiner,et al.  Real‐World Personal Conversations Using a Hands‐Free Embedded Wireless Device While Driving: Effect on Airbag‐Deployment Crash Rates , 2009, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[59]  Dario D. Salvucci.  Modeling Driver Distraction from Cognitive Tasks , 2019, Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.

[60]  J. Lupiáñez,et al.  Measuring vigilance while assessing the functioning of the three attentional networks: The ANTI-Vigilance task , 2011, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[61]  Richard A. Young.  Event detection: the second dimension of driver performance for visual-manual tasks , 2012 .

[62]  Jeremy D Sudweeks,et al.  An Analysis of Driver Inattention Using a Case-Crossover Approach On 100-Car Data: Final Report , 2010 .

[63]  Jin Fan,et al.  Attention as an Organ System , 2007 .

[64]  Paul Green,et al.  Driver Distraction, Telematics Design, and Workload Managers: Safety Issues and Solutions , 2004 .

[65]  J R Treat,et al.  TRI-LEVEL STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS: FINAL REPORT , 1979 .

[66]  Louis Tijerina,et al.  Driver Workload Metrics Task 2 Final Report , 2006 .

[67]  R. Young,et al.  Cell Phone Use and Crash Risk: Evidence for Positive Bias , 2012, Epidemiology.

[68]  Thomas A. Dingus,et al.  The Impact of Driver Inattention on Near-Crash/Crash Risk: An Analysis Using the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Data , 2006 .

[69]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Examining the Impact of Cell Phone Conversations on Driving Using Meta-Analytic Techniques , 2006, Hum. Factors.

[70]  Michel Bédard,et al.  Using the Attention Network Test to predict driving test scores. , 2009, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[71]  A Stevens,et al.  In-vehicle distraction and fatal accidents in England and Wales. , 2001, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[72]  John D. Lee,et al.  Defining Driver Distraction , 2009 .