Mobile Phone Conversation Distraction: Understanding Differences in Impact Between Simulator and Naturalistic Driving Studies

A current issue within the driver distraction community centers around different findings regarding the impact of mobile phone conversation on driving found in driving simulators versus instrumented vehicles employed in real-world naturalistic driving studies (NDSs). This paper compares and contrasts the two types of studies and aims to provide reasons for the differences in findings that have been documented. A comprehensive review of literature and consultations with human factors experts highlighted that simulator studies tend to show degradation in driving performance, suggestive of increased crash risk as a result of mobile phone conversation. Whilst NDSs, at times, present data suggesting that mobile phone conversation distraction actually reduces crash risk. This study identifies that these differences may be attributed to behavioral hypotheses associated with driver self-regulation, arousal from cognitive loading, task displacement and gaze concentration – all of which need to be explicitly tested in future driving studies. Metric estimation and application was also revealed to be polarizing results and the subsequent assessment of the crash risk. A common metric applied in this domain is the ‘Odds Ratio’, particularly prevalent in NDSs. This study presents a detailed investigation into the assumptions and application of the Odds Ratio which revealed the potential for over- and under-estimation of the metric depending on the core data and sampling assumptions. Furthermore, this research presents a comparative analysis of select driving simulator studies and an NDS considering only driving behavior data as a means to consistently compare the findings of both methodologies. The findings from this investigation implores the need for greater consistency in the application of analysis methods and metrics across both simulator and NDSs. Improvements can yield a more robust platform to systematically compare and interpret data across both approaches, ultimately leading to enhanced planning and safety regarding mobile phone use while driving.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.04.017
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457518310170
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Wijayaratna, Kasun P
  • Cunningham, Mitchell L
  • Regan, Michael A
  • Jian, Sisi
  • 0000-0001-6743-0193
  • Chand, Sai
  • Dixit, Vinayak V
• Publication Date: 2019-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 108-118
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 129
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic data collection systems; Behavior; Cognition; Data collection; Distraction; Driving simulators; Eye movements; Human factors in crashes; Task analysis
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01707618
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 6 2019 9:30AM