Showing posts with label distracted driving. Show all posts
No Time for Complacency
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, distracted driving, do as I say not as i do, Drinking and driving, drowsy driving, fatal car crashes, safety culture on Thursday, August 22, 2013
Readers familiar with our work will doubtlessly know what a strong emphasis we place on understanding and improving traffic safety culture in the United States. Starting with the 2007 publication of a compendium of articles by noted scholars, professionals, and advocates, we have since conducted annual surveys of the American public in order to measure and analyze the extent to which the nation’s motorists value and actively pursue safety on our roadways. Now, for the first time, we’ve taken a multi-year look at our Safety Culture Index surveys in order to analyze trends over time.
Troublingly, our new analysis appears to show that Americans have grown less concerned about key traffic safety hazards, such as impaired, drowsy, or distracted drivers. In 2009, for example, 90 percent of our survey respondents said they believed drivers operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol posed a very serious threat to their safety. This percentage has fallen every year since, however, reaching a low of 69 percent in 2012. For drowsy driving, these respective figures fell from 71 percent in 2009 to 46 percent in 2012.
Admittedly, we can’t determine from the survey data whether people believe these dangers pose less of a threat today because they think Americans have improved their driving behaviors overall, or because fewer people think the behaviors themselves are inherently dangerous. However, with 2012 showing a 5.3 percent increase in traffic fatalities over 2011 – the first annual increase in seven years – it’s clear that now is not the time for complacency, regardless of the reasoning.To keep pushing the needle on safety culture, the Transportation Research Board has just concluded a two-day National Roadway Safety Culture Summit, which was sponsored by the AAA Foundation and attended by about 100 members of the traffic safety community. The Summit’s goal was to identify research needs in this area and “next steps” that can be implemented in communities nationwide. The findings will ultimately inform the Toward Zero Deaths – a National Strategy on Highway Safety effort that is being developed by the traffic safety community.
We will of course continue our research and education in the area of safety culture, with our immediate next step being to complete and publish the 2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index. As in recent years, certain issue-specific findings will be available in the fall, and the full survey will be released in January. To learn more about our trends report, please click here. For information about the AAA Foundation-sponsored TRB summit, please visit this page.
Your Eyes Are on the Road and Hands Are on the Wheel -- but Where's Your Head?
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, distracted driving, driving safety, safety culture, traffic safety culture on Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Do you think that using a hands-free device is the safe alternative to driving while holding your phone or fidgeting with your car’s controls? If so, you’re not alone. Our latest safety culture index survey found that 71 percent of U.S. drivers think hands-free devices are safer than their hand-held counterparts, and more than half of American motorists who routinely use speech-based in-vehicle systems (e.g., stereo, navigation, text/email, etc.) do not believe these technologies are at all distracting.Today, however, the AAA Foundation is challenging these perceptions with brand-new research on mental distractions, and the suppressed brain activity and impaired driving performance of motorists who are engaged in cognitively-demanding tasks – even when they keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
Conducted at the University of Utah, this study utilized a combination of brainwave activity measures, driving performance indicators, and other assessments, and analyzed participants in a laboratory, driving simulator, and instrumented vehicle as they completed six common tasks: listening to the radio, listening to a book on tape, conversing with a passenger, conversing on a hand-held phone, conversing on a hands-free phone, and interacting with a speech-to-text email system. Researchers then created a rating scale that ranks these tasks according to how much mental distraction they cause, and the findings may surprise you.
It is perhaps reassuring that listening to the radio or a book on tape create only minor increases in cognitive workload above the baseline, “non-distracted” condition. Much more troubling, however, is the fact that phone conversations (whether hand-held or hands-free) and voice-based interactions with in-vehicle systems create significant levels of cognitive distraction, as demonstrated by suppressed brain activity, slowed reaction times, missed visual cues, and reduced visual scanning of the driving environment (think tunnel vision). Keep in mind that these degradations were found even though drivers kept their eyes on the road and, with the exception of the hand-held phone task, their hands on the wheel.
Succinctly put: “hands-free” doesn’t mean “risk free.”
This seemingly-simple conclusion has broad implications that give all of us a great deal to consider. For example, more than half of American motorists think that hands-free device use while driving is acceptable (while two thirds say hand-held devices are unacceptable). The perception that “hands-free” is the safe way to go may also help to explain the proliferation of speech-based in-vehicle technologies and infotainment systems. Though shipments of these systems are expected to skyrocket in the coming years, use of speech-to-text communications presented the highest level of cognitive distraction of all the tasks we analyzed. This suggests there is much work to be done to ensure that these systems do not interfere with the safe operation of motor vehicles.
This is an issue that we will continue to study, and we hope you will take some time to learn about cognitive distraction and how it may impact your driving. Please visit www.traffic-payout.org and newsroom.aaa.com to learn more, and remember the three keys to attentive driving: eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, mind on the task.
Putting Common Sense Back in the Driver’s Seat
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, AAAFTS, distracted driving, do as I say not as i do on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Earlier this week we learned that West Virginia legislators are considering a modification to the state’s texting ban that would prohibit driver use of a “wearable computer with a head mounted display.” With growing hype surrounding Google Glass and this emerging technology, lawmakers say this is an attempt to get ahead of the curve and cover their bases with regards to distracted driving. As currently written, WV law would permit the use of virtual goggles as hands-free devices.
Legislation plays a vital role in the traffic safety equation. With the explosion in cell phones and other mobile systems, however, we know that the development of new technologies almost always outpaces legislative considerations of whether these devices belong in the vehicle. Moreover, even if West Virginia’s efforts to preemptively address emerging technologies became the new norm nationwide, our police departments and patrol officers would need substantially enhanced resources to be able to enforce such laws.
So where does this leave us? With a reminder that common sense is what truly belongs in the driver’s seat. We know distracted driving is a problem. Nearly 90 percent of us even say it’s a bigger problem today than it was three years ago. And we know that when other drivers talk on cell phones or send text messages, it feels threatening to our own personal safety. Yet many of us keep doing it ourselves.
Popular Foundation Brochures Now Available in Spanish
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, AAAFTS, Aggressive driving, distracted driving, drivers education, drowsy driving, Road Rage, Senior safety and mobility on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Our mission at the Foundation is to “save lives through research and education,” and today we have taken an important step toward reaching a broader audience with our safety messaging. Our five most popular brochures are now available online in Spanish, and can be downloaded here free of charge.
Drawing upon the latest scientific findings of the Foundation’s research efforts, these brochures provide practical insights and tips for motorists and other road users in an effort to promote safety for all on the nation’s highways. The critical traffic safety topics addressed include:- Distractions in Everyday Driving
- How to Avoid Drowsy Driving
- How to Avoid Headlight Glare
- The Older and Wiser Driver
- Road Rage
We are very pleased to be able to expand our Spanish language offerings, and sincerely hope that these brochures will be valuable resources for driving schools, police departments, senior centers, community groups, and all of our safety partners who are trying to save lives and mitigate injuries on our roads.
Eyes on the Road, Hands on the Wheel, Mind on the Task
Posted by Unknown in AAAFTS, distracted driving, NYTSM, Teen driver study, teens and Passengers, texting while driving on Monday, May 14, 2012
Distracted driving is a hot topic in the traffic safety field, particularly as it relates to teen drivers. Teens are believed to be particularly susceptible to the dangers posed by distracted driving, as they are among the most avid adopters of new technologies, and they have the least experience managing risks behind the wheel.
Recently, we released the results from our naturalistic teen driver study, which is among the first to examine teen distracted driving through direct observation using in-vehicle cameras.
Electronic device use accounted for nearly one third of all the incidences of distracted driving observed in the study. Other frequent distractions included adjusting vehicle controls, personal grooming, and eating or drinking.
Interestingly, females were nearly twice as likely as males to use an electronic device while driving, and overall were nearly 10% more likely to be observed engaging in other distracted behaviors, such as reaching for an object in the vehicle and eating or drinking. Males, on the other hand, were roughly twice as likely to turn around in their seats while driving, and were also more likely to communicate with people outside of the vehicle.
Teens were twice as likely to text or type on their electronic devices as they were to make handheld calls. Recent reports suggest teens send between 3,000 to 4,000 texts per month, and with texting estimated to increase crash risk at least eight times, the findings underscore how critical it is for teens to put down their devices and pay attention to driving.
Other concerning behaviors involved teens driving with teen passengers. Loud conversation and horseplay were more than twice as likely to occur when multiple teens – instead of just one – were present. These distractions are particularly concerning, as they were found to be associated with serious incidents and high g-force events. Drivers were six times more likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle, and were more than twice as likely to have a high g-force event when there was horseplay.
Other concerning behaviors involved teens driving with teen passengers. Loud conversation and horseplay were more than twice as likely to occur when multiple teens – instead of just one – were present. These distractions are particularly concerning, as they were found to be associated with serious incidents and high g-force events. Drivers were six times more likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle, and were more than twice as likely to have a high g-force event when there was horseplay.
As we continue with our observance of National Youth Traffic Safety Month, I urge everybody – not just teens – to remember the three simple rules of attentive driving: keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on the task at hand. Put your texts and calls on hold, or the next message your friends receive may be from the hospital.
Teens and Distraction: Part 2- Electronics and Passengers
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, distracted driving, safety culture, Teen driving, Teens and distraction, texting while driving on Wednesday, March 28, 2012
In Part 1 of our “Teens and Distraction” blog, we discussed how gender played a role in some of the distractions observed. In part 2, we’ll focus on other teen distractions found, such as use of electronics, driving with passengers and horseplay.
Electronic Devices
Electronic Devices
Using electronic devices accounted for nearly one third of all the incidences of distracted driving observed in the study. Other frequent distractions included adjusting vehicle controls, personal grooming, and eating or drinking.
Researchers spotted or suspected the teens of using electronic devices in 7% of the video clips where the vehicles registered a g-force event, such as sudden braking or swerving. Teens were twice as likely to text or type on their electronic devices than they were to make handheld calls. Recent reports suggest teens send between 3,000 to 4,000 texts per month, so it's not surprising to see this behavior taking place, but it underscores how critical it is for teens to put down their devices and pay attention to driving.
Drivers in the study using electronic devices look away from the road more frequently and longer than drivers engaging in other distracting behaviors. On average, they looked away a full second longer – long enough to travel the length of a basketball court!
Passengers, Loud Conversations & Horseplay
Driving with passengers was also found to influence driver behavior. Distracting teen activities significantly decreased when parents or other adults were present in the car. In contrast, loud conversation and horseplay were more than twice as likely to occur when multiple teens – instead of just one – were present. These distractions are particularly concerning, as they are associated with the occurrence of crashes, other serious incidents (such as leaving the roadway), and high g-force events. Drivers were six times more likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle, and were more than twice as likely to have a high g-force event when there was horseplay.
More information from this study, including a press release and fact sheet can be found here.
Researchers spotted or suspected the teens of using electronic devices in 7% of the video clips where the vehicles registered a g-force event, such as sudden braking or swerving. Teens were twice as likely to text or type on their electronic devices than they were to make handheld calls. Recent reports suggest teens send between 3,000 to 4,000 texts per month, so it's not surprising to see this behavior taking place, but it underscores how critical it is for teens to put down their devices and pay attention to driving.
Drivers in the study using electronic devices look away from the road more frequently and longer than drivers engaging in other distracting behaviors. On average, they looked away a full second longer – long enough to travel the length of a basketball court!
Passengers, Loud Conversations & Horseplay
Driving with passengers was also found to influence driver behavior. Distracting teen activities significantly decreased when parents or other adults were present in the car. In contrast, loud conversation and horseplay were more than twice as likely to occur when multiple teens – instead of just one – were present. These distractions are particularly concerning, as they are associated with the occurrence of crashes, other serious incidents (such as leaving the roadway), and high g-force events. Drivers were six times more likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle, and were more than twice as likely to have a high g-force event when there was horseplay.
More information from this study, including a press release and fact sheet can be found here.
Part 1: Teens and Distraction- Males vs. Females
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, distracted driving, driving safety, teen drivers, video footage of teens driving distracted, Videos on Monday, March 26, 2012
With teen crash rates roughly four times higher than those of adult drivers, traffic crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers in America. Today, the Foundation released the results from our new teen driver study which showed that females display more distracted behaviors behind the wheel than males.
Using in-car video footage, researchers identified the prevalence and consequences of various distracted driver behaviors and distracting conditions among teens during high g-force maneuvers, such as swerving, hard braking, or rapid acceleration.
Interestingly, gender played a role in some of the distractions observed. Females were nearly twice as likely as males to use an electronic device while driving, and overall were nearly 10% more likely to be observed engaging in other distracted behaviors, such as reaching for an object in the vehicle (nearly 50% more likely than males) and eating or drinking (nearly 25% more likely).
Males, on the other hand, were roughly twice as likely to turn around in their seats while driving, and were also more likely to communicate with people outside of the vehicle.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll discuss more findings from this study, including how electronics, passengers and other distractions affect teen driver behavior.
More information from this study, including a press release and fact sheet, can be found here.
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