Certain activities and events both inside and outside a vehicle can distract drivers and lead to degraded performance. New technologies- such as entertainment, communication, and driver assistance systems- play a significant role in distraction. This unique volume defines driver distraction, discusses various causes, and explains how to measure acceptable and unacceptable levels of distraction. Several chapters address measurement techniques based on performance and epidemiological studies. Most importantly, the text explores ways to mitigate driver distraction as well as countermeasures including vehicle design and effective legislation.

A Practical Resource for Understanding, Preventing, and Managing Driver Distraction It is estimated that up to 23 percent of crashes and near-crashes are caused by driver distraction, and these figures will likely increase as more and more distractions, both inside and outside the vehicle, compete for driver attention. Driver Distraction: Theory, Effects, and Mitigation gives a comprehensive overview of this issue, outlining the underlying theory of distraction, its effects on driving performance and safety, strategies for mitigating its effects, and directions for future research. It also brings together the wide array of literature on the topic into one, all-inclusive volume. Includes Recommendations for Managing Distractions in the Technological Age This comprehensive volume reviews the full range of distracting activities that occur while driving, and available ergonomic methods, guidelines, and checklists for the measurement and mitigation of driver distraction. It also recommends ways to manage distraction through enhanced data collection and analysis, driver education and training, driver licensing, legislation and enforcement, vehicle design, road design, company policies, and future research. Beneficial for a broad audience, including: Vehicle manufacturers Road transport authorities and safety agencies Traffic and transport engineers Automotive equipment manufacturers and suppliers Company safety managers Standards organizations Transport safety research agencies This work comes at a critical time when road safety authorities are just beginning to recognize the importance of driver distraction as a road safety issue. With balanced and practical guidance, it aims to prevent driver distraction from escalating into an even more significant problem.

Driver Distraction: A Sociotechnical Systems Approach promotes a sociotechnical systems approach to driver distraction. This perspective focuses on analysis of the whole system, its values, and the interactions between human and technical elements at all organisational levels. The book covers the role that the sociotechnical system plays in the theory, study and mitigation of driver distraction. The book will be of interest to accident and incident investigation researchers and practitioners. Provides a review of the current state of driver distraction research Describes the development, application, and validation of a novel model of driver distraction that accounts for the sociotechnical system Discusses a new, systems-based, driver distraction definition Explains AcciMap analysis of the current legislation on driver distraction from technological devices Offers novel approaches to understanding why driver distraction occurs Presents a extensive framework of the causal factors that lead to distraction informed by drivers

It is estimated that, in the United States, around 20 percent of all Police-reported road crashes involve driver distraction as a contributing factor. This figure increases if other forms of inattention are considered. Evidence (reviewed in this volume) suggests that the situation is similar in other countries and that driver distraction and inattention are even more dangerous as contributing factors in crashes than drug and alcohol intoxication. Having a solid evidence-base from which to develop injury countermeasures is a cornerstone of road-safety management. This book adds to the accumulating evidence-base on driver distraction and inattention. With 24 chapters by 52 authors from more than 10 countries, it provides important new perspectives on the definition and meaning of driver distraction and inattention, the mechanisms that characterize them, the measurement of their effects, strategies for mitigating their effects, and recommendations for further research. The goal of this book is to inspire further research and countermeasure development to prevent and mitigate the potentially adverse effects of driver distraction and driver inattention, and, in doing so, to save lives.

It is estimated that, in the United States, around 20 percent of all Police-reported road crashes involve driver distraction as a contributing factor. This figure increases if other forms of inattention are considered. Evidence (reviewed in this volume) suggests that the situation is similar in other countries and that driver distraction and inattention are even more dangerous as contributing factors in crashes than drug and alcohol intoxication. Having a solid evidence-base from which to develop injury countermeasures is a cornerstone of road-safety management. This book adds to the accumulating evidence-base on driver distraction and inattention. With 24 chapters by 52 authors from more than 10 countries, it provides important new perspectives on the definition and meaning of driver distraction and inattention, the mechanisms that characterize them, the measurement of their effects, strategies for mitigating their effects, and recommendations for further research. The goal of this book is to inspire further research and countermeasure development to prevent and mitigate the potentially adverse effects of driver distraction and driver inattention, and, in doing so, to save lives.

Distracted driving is a behaviour dangerous to drivers, passengers, and non-occupants alike. Distraction is a specific type of inattention that occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity instead. This book examines data gathered on specific distracting activities to support the development of safety countermeasures and to conduct improved data analysis.

The Handbook of Traffic Psychology covers all key areas of research in this field including theory, applications, methodology and analyses, variables that affect traffic, driver problem behaviors, and countermeasures to reduce risk on roadways. Comprehensive in scope, the methodology section includes case-control studies, self-report instruments and methods, field methods and naturalistic observational techniques, instrumented vehicles and in-car recording techniques, modeling and simulation methods, in vivo methods, clinical assessment, and crash datasets and analyses. Experienced researchers will better understand what methods are most useful for what kinds of studies and students can better understand the myriad of techniques used in this discipline. - Focuses specifically on traffic, as opposed to transport - Covers all key areas of research in traffic psychology including theory, applications, methodology and analyses, variables that affect traffic, driver problem behaviors, and countermeasures to reduce the risk of variables and behavior - Contents include how to conduct traffic research and how to analyze data - Contributors come from more than 10 countries, including US, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Turkey, France, Finland, Norway, Israel, and South Africa

We all want to believe we can drive responsibly and monitor distractions. But our attention is limited by nature, and we are often very subtly distracted from noticing things right in front of us. Depending on what you're doing while you're driving, you could literally miss seeing a giraffe grazing on the roadside. Because of distractions, many people have failed to see a gorilla beating its chest right in front of them, and this is no joke.We really are not good multi-taskers when our attention is spread over tasks that require dedicated attention. That's why conversations on cellphones turn out to be a serious distraction to drivers. Read this book and see what you think. And then see what you think about whether it's fair to the rest of the people in your car or on the road when you allow yourself to be distracted in the special way that cellphones can distract.

While many transportation and city planners, researchers, students, practitioners, and political leaders are familiar with the technical nature and promise of vehicle automation, consensus is not yet often seen on the impact that will result, or the policies and actions that those responsible for transportation systems should take. The End of Driving: Transportation Systems and Public Policy Planning for Autonomous Vehicles explores both the potential of vehicle automation technology and the barriers it faces when considering coherent urban deployment. The book evaluates the case for deliberate development of automated public transportation and mobility-as-a-service as paths towards sustainable mobility, describing critical approaches to the planning and management of vehicle automation technology. It serves as a reference for understanding the full life cycle of the multi-year transportation systems planning processes, including novel regulation, planning, and acquisition tools for regional transportation. Application-oriented, research-based, and solution-oriented rather than predict-and-warn, The End of Driving concludes with a detailed discussion of the systems design needed for accomplishing this shift. From the Foreword by Susan Shaheen: The authors ... extend potential solutions through a set of open-ended exercises after each chapter. Their approach is both strategic and deliberate. They lead the reader from definitions and context setting to the transition toward automation, employing a range of creative strategies and policies. While our quest to understand how to deploy automated vehicles is just beginning, this book provides a thoughtful introduction to inform this evolution. - Offers a workable public transit solution design melding the traditional "acquire-and-operate mode with the absorption of new technology - Provides a step-by-step discussion of digital systems designs and effective regulation-by-data approaches needed for a new urban mobility - Learning aids include case study scenarios, chapter objectives and discussion questions, sidebars and a glossary