Benefits & Safety Risks

Papers, polls, Q&A items, and comments on this page are oriented to topics and issues associated with Benefits and Safety Risks of in-vehicle technologies. Feel free to post comments on issues outlined below, or in response to papers, polls, and/or questions submitted to our expert panel. Although discussions are meant to emphasize safety impacts associated with in-vehicle technological devices, comments relating to safety risks deriving from non-technological or traditional sources of distraction (e.g., eating, shaving, applying make-up, monitoring kids, etc) are also welcome. A moderator has been assigned to periodically synthesize comments, keep discussions focused and moving, emphasize key points, and offer additional insights into related issues.

DISCUSSION ISSUES/TOPICS

Extent of Problem & Safety Risks

To what extent is there a safety problem? Are problems limited to new users who are first learning to use the system, or are they more pervasive and wide spread?
How can we maintain benefits without sacrificing safety?
What can we expect to see in terms of impacts and how do we assess the appropriate level of safety risks from using in-vehicle technologies?
- Can we expect crash rates to increase as a result of in-vehicle technologies?
- How will these technologies affect individual’s ability to drive?
- Can drivers be trusted to regulate their use of these technologies – limiting their use to situations when it is presumed safe to operate.
- Will drivers become less cautious as they become routinely exposed to these technologies?

Research Needs

What are the important unanswered questions relating to safety & benefits of in-vehicle technology. What research issues should we invest our time and resources studying?

Content Available In Each Topic Area

  Paper
  Comment
  Ask the Expert
  Poll

Extent of Problem & Safety Risks
	The Impact of Internal Distraction on Driver Visual Behavior 5/17/00 2:30:52 PM The Influence of the Use of Mobile Phones on Driver Situation Awareness 5/17/00 2:31:00 PM Issues in the Evaluation of Driver Distraction Associated with In-Vehicle Information and Telecommunications Systems 5/18/00 9:44:51 AM Individual Differences and In-Vehicle Distraction While Driving: A Test Track Study and Psychometric Evaluation 5/18/00 10:35:38 AM A Technical Platform for Driver Inattention Research 5/18/00 1:34:17 PM In terms of safety, what type of distraction concerns you more? Have you ever witnessed, or experienced a close call or crash resulting from a driver using a cellular phone or from your personal use with a cell phone? How capable are drivers at making decisions about when it is safe to use technology while driving? my own inability 7/6/00 8:21:30 AM driving while inconversated 7/6/00 8:31:21 AM honk honk honk! hang up the @#$%$#@ cell phone please! 7/6/00 8:40:13 AM Driving is dangerous enough. 7/8/00 12:16:49 AM More distractions? 7/8/00 9:24:29 AM more comments after reading studies 7/8/00 9:28:20 AM *Have you ever witnessed, or experienced a close call or crash resulting from a driver being distracted by something other than a cell phone? (e.g. reading a map, eating, personal grooming)* in-vehicle technology needs to be eliminated 7/13/00 10:17:06 PM Hang-up and Drive 7/14/00 10:31:02 AM General comments about distracted drivers 7/14/00 3:33:25 PM Passenger airbags; forcing children, especially rear-facing infants to the back seat where they are responsible for crash causing driver distractions. 7/14/00 5:48:07 PM Multitude of distractions 7/15/00 11:26:03 PM Distraction Perspective 7/17/00 10:42:58 PM Driving is Given Less Attention Than it Deserves 7/18/00 9:10:49 AM Now that we know..... 7/18/00 9:15:10 AM Lonely on the road 7/18/00 5:18:40 PM cell phones 7/18/00 5:27:39 PM Distractions 7/18/00 8:09:55 PM Latest attempt to legislate common sense at the expense of freedom 7/18/00 9:21:39 PM Children in the back seat 7/18/00 10:27:26 PM Benefits are minimal; not worth the risks 7/19/00 10:20:19 AM Comment on "Benefits are minimal..." 7/19/00 5:07:26 PM Benefits---I am not convinced 7/20/00 10:42:30 AM There is a solution - it's called the train 7/20/00 12:34:16 PM *The real* problem 7/21/00 11:52:59 AM What about other in-vehicle technologies? 7/21/00 5:24:54 PM The scope of "distractions" needs to be cast much wider 7/21/00 9:35:32 PM Trained drivers susceptible to distraction? (See detailed question below)** 7/25/00 8:56:18 AM Loren Staplin Please comment on this hypothesis. "A properly trained motorist is more likely to be concentrating on the act of driving than one who is poorly trained and has not developed proper driving habits. Such a motorist will be less susceptible to distractions while driving." Is this, in your opinion, a legitimate area for research? A. First, a working assumption: a 'properly-trained' driver is one who has learned strategic (trip planning), tactical (situational awareness), and operational (vehicle maneuvering) skills to criterion levels not attainable by a 'poorly-trained' (or untrained) driver. Next, one's concentration on 'the act of driving,' as exemplified by where one directs one's attention, how quickly and appropriately one responds to safety threats, etc., can reasonably be expected to change with experience, as specific behaviors are reinforced in some situations but not in others. Slowing down and checking carefully to the sides as one approaches an intersection where sight distance is limited by a structure, vegetation, etc., is reinforced often enough so that this training lesson sticks. (The partial reinforcement schedule for such behavior in fact makes it extremely likely to persist, to the motorist's advantage.) An untrained driver who happens to behave in this manner is similarly reinforced, of course. Thus, to the extent that a novice driver is 'properly' trained, the initial months or years of driving should be characterized by superior allocation of attention (i.e., looking where you should, when you should) relative to an untrained driver who must (hopefully) learn the same lessons through trial and error. The differences in how effectively drivers attend to potential hazards (as well as their susceptibility to distractions) as a function of training may not be so evident over time, however. Some hazards manifest themselves very infrequently, such as trains encountered at at-grade crossings. As a result, slowing down sufficiently to effectively check to the sides before crossing the tracks may be reinforced so rarely that the 'properly trained' driver behaves no more safely than the untrained driver after some time. This may not be exactly what the question implied, by "susceptibility to distractions," though. On this score, it is important to remember that training can have a strong impact on what a driver CAN do, but does not necessarily determine what he WILL do. An individual who has received relatively more extensive driver training may be expected to more rapidly find, understand, and react appropriately to the most safety-critical information in a given situation than an untrained or poorly trained individual. Training teaches drivers what to expect in the way of potential hazards, so they may be anticipated and recognized sooner, and responded to more effectively. This gained efficiency in visual search, except in extremely high demand situations (e.g., high-speed, high-volume traffic; or adverse weather conditions), will result in 'spare capacity.' That is, while the untrained (especially novice) motorist is likely to experience the driving task as sufficiently demanding that his or her full attention is required to perform it, the highly-trained driver will perceive the difficulty of the driving task as being easier-even routine--especially when driving on familiar routes. And with this perception that one's full attention is not necessary to meet the demands of the driving task, the susceptibility to distraction increases. This does not suggest that training is unnecessary or counterproductive. With experience, the same perceptions of spare capacity evolve. And for novices, I would expect safety benefits of training--especially to the extent it is focused on the 'tactical' aspects of driving, situational awareness and hazard recognition--to be measurable for at least several years. But to reiterate, it is the pattern of reinforcement for everyday behavior that ultimately controls how often and to what a driver pays attention. At the moment, what seems to me to be the most interesting research approach in this area would be a comparison of the attentional behaviors and hazard avoidance responses, obtained unobtrusively under completely naturalistic (on-road) driving conditions, between groups selected to permit study of the interactions between experience, amount/type of training, and functional ability level. oh dear its you we should watch for 7/26/00 10:13:43 AM Driver Training 7/26/00 12:45:19 PM Engage brain before putting mouth into gear 7/27/00 1:17:58 PM comment on: Benefits---I am not convinced 8/1/00 9:57:07 AM RE: oh dear its you we should watch for 8/3/00 7:06:56 AM Map Readfing while driving 8/3/00 7:25:10 AM RE: Latest attempt to legislate common sense at the expense of freedom 8/3/00 7:59:16 AM Referring to: cell phones 8/3/00 8:54:22 AM RE: Greg Knight's comment 8/3/00 10:14:11 AM Technology Related Distraction & Crashes (see detailed question below) 8/3/00 10:28:09 AM Comment on: RE: Greg Knight's comment 8/3/00 12:35:46 PM Have you been to Westport, CT? 8/5/00 9:25:19 PM RE: Lonely on the road 8/7/00 11:30:54 AM driver awareness 8/8/00 10:04:57 AM Think about it 8/8/00 2:58:44 PM 911? 8/8/00 3:12:11 PM Critical Input: Headway to vehicle in front 8/8/00 4:46:30 PM Riding my bike home from work 8/8/00 10:26:39 PM Infants in the back seat 8/10/00 11:10:47 AM RE: 911? 8/10/00 12:08:03 PM Human element cannot be minimized by technology 8/10/00 9:57:59 PM One size does not fit all 8/11/00 2:27:09 PM
Research Needs