Awareness of Performance Decrements Due to Distraction in Younger and Older Drivers

Although many studies have documented the performance decrements associated with driver distractions, few have examined drivers’ awareness of these distraction effects. The current study purports to measure how well-calibrated drivers are with respect to their own performance when distracted. Forty drivers completed a series of tasks on a hand-held or hands-free cell phone while driving an instrumented vehicle around a closed test track. Subjective estimates of performance decrements were recorded and compared to actual decrements observed on multiple measures of driving performance. Although their driving performance suffered in dual-task conditions, drivers were generally not well-calibrated to the magnitude of the distraction effects (r = -.38 to .16). In some cases, estimates of distraction were opposite of the observed effects (i.e., smaller estimates of distraction corresponded to larger performance deficits). There were some age and gender differences. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for potential mitigation strategies for distracted driving.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780874141580
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Iowa, Iowa City

  Public Policy Center
  227 South Quadrangle
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242-1192
• Authors:
  • Horrey, William J
  • Lesch, Mary F
  • Garabet, Angela
• Conference:
  • Driving Assessment 2007: 4th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design
  • Location: Stevenson Washington, United States
  • Date: 2007-7-9 to 2007-7-12
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 54-60
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 4th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design, Stevenson, Washington, July 9-12, 2007

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Awareness; Cellular telephones; Distraction; Drivers; Driving; Gender; Highway safety; Instrumented vehicles; Performance
• Candidate Terms: Handheld devices
• Uncontrolled Terms: Hands free telephones
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01055550
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780874141580
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 8 2007 5:18PM