Driver Distraction with Wireless Telecommunications and Route Guidance Systems

Abstract

Concerns have been raised in recent years about the distraction potential of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies including driver information systems such as route navigation systems. The research described in this report had the following objectives: 1) characterize the impact of route guidance system destination entry use on vehicle control and driver eye glance behavior on a test track; 2) assess the influence of individual differences, as indexed by a battery of cognitive tests, on the susceptibility to distraction as indicated by disruption in vehicle control and driver eye glance behavior during destination entry and cellular telephone use while driving; and 3) examine the validity of a proposed Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommended practice, known as the 15-second rule, according to which if a given route guidance destination entry function can be completed in 15 seconds or less by a sample of drivers without concurrent driving, then that function may be accessible while the vehicle is in motion. Results for this research suggest voice recognition technology is a viable alternative to visual-manual destination entry while driving and that destination entry with visual-methods is ill-advised while driving. The assessment of the impact of individual differences on the susceptibility to distraction during destination entry and cellular telephone use while driving showed low but consistent patterns of correlation to test track performance measures. The results of this preliminary assessment of the 15-second rule suggest that, when applied to a variety of tasks, the rule has diagnostic sensitivity not much better than chance guessing. The 15-second rule works well for disallowing the most egregiously distracting tasks, e.g., manual destination entry while driving. These preliminary findings, together with the observation that the 15-second rule is, in itself, not diagnostic with regard to the locus of a driver distraction effect, suggest that opportunities for improvement should be pursued.

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