The effect of driving demands on distraction engagement and glance behaviors: Results from naturalistic data

To understand drivers’ engagement in distractions and their visual attention allocation under different driving demands. Background: Although distraction increases crash risk, drivers engage in distractions frequently with no negative consequences, likely in part due to their self-regulating behaviors. Prior research revealed a variety of self-regulating behaviors specifically related to cell-phone engagement, but very limited research has investigated whether and how driving demands affect engagement in distractions in general, particularly within a natural setting rather than in the simulator. The authors used the Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks (NEST) dataset, a subset of SHRP2 data, to analyze secondary task engagement and off-path (not in direction of travel) eye glances. In addition to assessing their relation to environmental demand, the authors also considered driver age and chosen speed. Higher visual difficulty environments (characterized as visually complex and/or with low visibility) were associated with a decreased likelihood of secondary task engagement as well as a decrease in off-path glances, particularly longer ones (>2s). Drivers 35 and older had lower rates of off-path glances compared to younger drivers. An increase in speed was associated with a decrease in the likelihood of task engagement in higher motor control difficulty environments (characterized as poor surface condition and/or curved road) but not in lower ones. Drivers appear to modulate their task engagement and off-path glances based on driving demands. However, given that inopportune short off-path glances can lead to crashes, interventions are still needed to help drivers better modulate their distraction engagement.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105123
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753520305208
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09257535
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Risteska, Martina
  • Kanaan, Dina
  • Donmez, Birsen
  • Chen, Huei-Yen Winnie
• Publication Date: 2021-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • Safety Science
  • Volume: 136
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0925-7535
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09257535

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age groups; Automatic data collection systems; Distraction; Driver performance; Eye fixations; Eye movements; Task analysis
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01764571
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 8 2021 11:17AM