Driving under Involuntary and Voluntary Distraction: Individual Differences and Effects on Driving Performance

Distracted driving compromises safety. Distractions stem from intentional engagement in secondary tasks (voluntary) or an inability to supress non-driving related information (involuntary). This thesis aims to understand, through two driving simulator experiments, how involuntary and voluntary distraction affect drivers and individual differences in susceptibility to either type of distraction. Findings show involuntary and voluntary distraction degrade driving performance. Drivers appear more cognisant of voluntary distractions compared to involuntary distraction. They compensate for their accelerator release delays in response to lead vehicle braking by transitioning more quickly to the brake pedal under voluntary distraction, but not under involuntary distraction. Drivers self-reporting frequent distraction engagement in realworld driving glanced more frequently at the voluntary distraction task used in the experiments and drivers self-reporting greater everyday distractibility had longer glances toward involuntary distraction stimuli. Involuntary distraction engagement was not related to the manipulated environmental visual complexity nor inhibition ability measured through cognitive tasks.

[1]  S. Hart,et al.  Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of Empirical and Theoretical Research , 1988 .

[2]  Charles Spence,et al.  Multisensory cues capture spatial attention regardless of perceptual load. , 2007, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[3]  A. M. Parkes,et al.  DRIVER SITUATION AWARENESS AND CARPHONE USE , 2001 .

[4]  Dot Hs.  On-Road Study of Willingness to Engage in Distracting Tasks , 2005 .

[5]  Linda Ng Boyle,et al.  Safety implications of providing real-time feedback to distracted drivers. , 2007, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[6]  I. Ajzen.  The theory of planned behavior , 1991 .

[7]  Matthew Witte,et al.  Effect of cellular telephone conversations and other potential interference on reaction time in a braking response. , 2003, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  C. Eriksen,et al.  Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task , 1974 .

[9]  John Vavrik,et al.  The impact of hands-free message reception/response on driving task performance. , 2003, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[10]  N. Lavie.  Distracted and confused?: Selective attention under load , 2005, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[11]  Steven J. Landry,et al.  A methodology for studying cognitive groupings in a target-tracking task , 2001, IEEE Trans. Intell. Transp. Syst..

[12]  W. Kirchner.  Age differences in short-term retention of rapidly changing information. , 1958, Journal of experimental psychology.

[13]  Paul Green,et al.  Car Phone Usability: A Human Factors Laboratory Test , 1993 .

[14]  Frank Drews,et al.  Profiles in Driver Distraction: Effects of Cell Phone Conversations on Younger and Older Drivers , 2004, Hum. Factors.

[15]  D. Tellinghuisen,et al.  The inability to ignore auditory distractors as a function of visual task perceptual load , 2003, Perception & psychophysics.

[16]  Khaled F. Hussain,et al.  Augmented Reality Vehicle system: Left-turn maneuver study , 2012 .

[17]  Salaheddine Bendak,et al.  The role of roadside advertising signs in distracting drivers. , 2010 .

[18]  Zachary J. J. Roper,et al.  Perceptual load corresponds with factors known to influence visual search. , 2013, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[19]  F. Parmentier.  Towards a cognitive model of distraction by auditory novelty: The role of involuntary attention capture and semantic processing , 2008, Cognition.

[20]  Jennifer Alexander,et al.  Factors influencing the probability of an incident at a junction: results from an interactive driving simulator. , 2002, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[21]  Andrew Hollingworth,et al.  New objects do not capture attention without a sensory transient , 2010, Attention, perception & psychophysics.

[22]  Rw Ady.  An Investigation of the Relationship between Illuminated Advertising Signs and Expressway Accidents , 1967 .

[23]  Kevin Grove,et al.  Compensatory Behavior of Drivers When Conversing on a Cell Phone , 2014 .

[24]  Katherine M White,et al.  Dialling and driving: factors influencing intentions to use a mobile phone while driving. , 2008, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[25]  David N. Lee,et al.  Where we look when we steer , 1994, Nature.

[26]  Rune Haubo Bojesen Christensen,et al.  Regression Models for Ordinal Data , 2015 .

[27]  Linda Ng Boyle,et al.  The Impact of Distraction Mitigation Strategies on Driving Performance , 2006, Hum. Factors.

[28]  D. Shinar,et al.  Eye Movements in Curve Negotiation , 1977, Human factors.

[29]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Multiple resources and performance prediction , 2002 .

[30]  J. Theeuwes,et al.  Attentional and oculomotor capture , 2001 .

[31]  Thomas B. Sheridan,et al.  Driver Distraction From a Control Theory Perspective , 2004, Hum. Factors.

[32]  Joel Hughes,et al.  Both Texting and Eating Are Associated With Impaired Simulated Driving Performance , 2012, Traffic injury prevention.

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

[34]  D. Strayer,et al.  Cell phone-induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[35]  D. E Haigney,et al.  Concurrent mobile (cellular) phone use and driving performance: task demand characteristics and compensatory processes , 2000 .

[36]  D. Simons,et al.  Moving and looming stimuli capture attention , 2003, Perception & psychophysics.

[37]  Donald Bischoff,et al.  Developing Guidelines for Managing Driver Workload and Distraction Associated with TelematicDevices , 2007 .

[38]  J. Stroop.  Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. , 1992 .

[39]  G. Norman.  Likert scales, levels of measurement and the “laws” of statistics , 2010, Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice.

[40]  Jeff K. Caird,et al.  Visual Search for Traffic Signs: The Effects of Clutter, Luminance, and Aging , 2001, Hum. Factors.

[41]  Birsen Donmez,et al.  Test-retest Reliability of the Susceptibility to Driver Distraction Questionnaire (SDDQ) , 2015 .

[42]  E. A. Berg,et al.  A simple objective technique for measuring flexibility in thinking. , 1948, The Journal of general psychology.

[43]  Francesco Bella,et al.  Driver perception of roadside configurations on two-lane rural roads: Effects on speed and lateral placement. , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[44]  R. Medford.  National Highway Traffic Safety , 2005 .

[45]  D. Broadbent,et al.  The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates. , 1982, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[46]  T. Victor,et al.  Attention selection and multitasking in everyday driving: A conceptual model , 2013 .

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

[48]  B L Cole,et al.  What attracts attention when driving? , 1986, Ergonomics.

[49]  Birsen Donmez,et al.  Capturing Voluntary, Involuntary, and Habitual Components of Driver Distraction in a Self-Reported Questionnaire , 2017 .

[50]  M. Woodward,et al.  The prevalence of, and factors associated with, serious crashes involving a distracting activity. , 2007, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[51]  Teimour Allahyari,et al.  Cognitive Failures, Driving Errors and Driving Accidents , 2008, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[52]  S. Yantis,et al.  Abrupt visual onsets and selective attention: voluntary versus automatic allocation. , 1990, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[53]  Linda Ng Boyle,et al.  Differences in Off-Road Glances: Effects on Young Drivers’ Performance , 2010 .

[54]  James T. Enns,et al.  A Two-dimensional Framework for Understanding the Role of Attentional Selection in Driving , 2009 .

[55]  Brendan Wallace,et al.  Driver distraction by advertising: genuine risk or urban myth? , 2003 .

[56]  E. Viding,et al.  Load theory of selective attention and cognitive control. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[57]  William J. Horrey,et al.  Factors Related to Drivers' Self-Reported Willingness to Engage in Distracting In-Vehicle Activities , 2008 .

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

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

[60]  S. Monsell,et al.  Costs of a predictible switch between simple cognitive tasks. , 1995 .

[61]  Pamela D'Addario,et al.  Perception-response Time to Emergency Roadway Hazards and the Effect of Cognitive Distraction , 2014 .

[62]  A. Miyake,et al.  The relations among inhibition and interference control functions: a latent-variable analysis. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[63]  Jing Feng,et al.  Susceptibility to Driver Distraction Questionnaire , 2014 .

[64]  R. Engle,et al.  Is working memory capacity task dependent , 1989 .

[65]  Thomas J Triggs,et al.  Driver distraction: the effects of concurrent in-vehicle tasks, road environment complexity and age on driving performance. , 2006, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[66]  William J. Horrey,et al.  Driver-initiated distractions: examining strategic adaptation for in-vehicle task initiation. , 2009, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[67]  Dennis Doverspike,et al.  Locus of control and auditory selective attention as predictors of driving accident involvement: A comparative longitudinal investigation☆ , 1992 .

[68]  B. Metz,et al.  Attention during visual secondary tasks in driving: Adaptation to the demands of the driving task , 2011 .

[69]  Michael Fitzharris,et al.  Driver inattention and driver distraction in serious casualty crashes: data from the Australian National Crash In-depth Study. , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[70]  Moshe Eizenman,et al.  Observed Driver Glance Behavior at Roadside Advertising Signs , 2004 .

[71]  N. Moray.  Attention in Dichotic Listening: Affective Cues and the Influence of Instructions , 1959 .

[72]  Samuel G Charlton,et al.  Driving while conversing: cell phones that distract and passengers who react. , 2009, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[73]  Harry N. Boone,et al.  Analyzing Likert Data , 2012, Journal of Extension.

[74]  Joshua E. Domeyer,et al.  Towards Operationalizing Driver Distraction , 2017 .

[75]  Matthew Rizzo,et al.  Impaired attentional disengagement in older adults with useful field of view decline. , 2012, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[76]  E. C. Cmm,et al.  on the Recognition of Speech, with , 2008 .

[77]  Samuel G Charlton,et al.  Using endemic road features to create self-explaining roads and reduce vehicle speeds. , 2010, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[78]  M. J. Emerson,et al.  The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis , 2000, Cognitive Psychology.

[79]  Mark Asbridge,et al.  A meta-analysis of the effects of texting on driving. , 2014, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[80]  T Boersema,et al.  Conspicuity in realistic scenes: an eye-movement measure. , 1989, Applied ergonomics.

[81]  D. Simons,et al.  The dynamic events that capture visual attention: A reply to Abrams and Christ (2005) , 2005, Perception & psychophysics.

[82]  Jeff K. Caird,et al.  Twelve Practical and Useful Questions about Driving Simulation , 2011 .

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

[84]  John D. Lee,et al.  Sources of Driver Distraction , 2009 .

[85]  P. Murphy,et al.  Inhibitory Control in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder , 2002, Journal of attention disorders.

[86]  D. E. Irwin,et al.  Attentional and oculomotor capture by onset, luminance and color singletons , 2000, Vision Research.

[87]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  In-Vehicle Glance Duration , 2007 .

[88]  Peter J Cooper,et al.  Turning gap acceptance decision-making: the impact of driver distraction. , 2002, Journal of safety research.

[89]  Xuedong Yan,et al.  Effects of major-road vehicle speed and driver age and gender on left-turn gap acceptance. , 2007, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[90]  John D. Lee,et al.  Handbook of Driving Simulation for Engineering, Medicine and Psychology: An Overview , 2011 .

[91]  N. Lavie,et al.  Failures to Ignore Entirely Irrelevant Distractors , 2008, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[92]  Marco Dozza,et al.  Analysis of Naturalistic Driving Study Data: Safer Glances, Driver Inattention, and Crash Risk , 2014 .

[93]  David J. Wheatley,et al.  Using Driver Performance Measures to Estimate Workload , 2002 .

[94]  Bryan Reimer,et al.  Further Evaluation of the Effects of a Production Level "Voice-Command" Interface on Driver Behavior: Replication and a Consideration of the Significance of Training Method , 2014 .

[95]  Thomas H. Rockwell,et al.  DRIVERS' EYE MOVEMENTS AND VISUAL WORKLOAD , 1969 .

[96]  Young,et al.  Driven to distraction: Determining the effects of roadside advertising on driver attention , 2008 .