title: Driver-initiated distractions: examining strategic adaptation for in-vehicle task initiation.
abstract: Today, drivers are faced with many in-vehicle activities that are potentially distracting. In many cases, they are not passive recipients of these tasks; rather, drivers decide whether or not (or how) to perform them. In this study, we examined whether drivers, given knowledge of the upcoming road demands, would strategically delay performing in-vehicle activities until demands were reduced. Twenty drivers drove an instrumented van around a closed track that was divided into sections of varying demands and difficulty. Drivers were asked to perform one of four in-vehicle tasks (e.g., phone conversation; read a text message; find an address; pick up an object on the floor); however, they were free to decide when to initiate these tasks, provided they finish them before a given deadline. Although drivers were fully aware of the relative demands of the road, they did not tend to strategically postpone tasks--a finding that was consistent across the different tasks (p >.05). Rather, drivers tended to initiate tasks regardless of the current driving conditions. This strategy frequently led to driving errors. Given the control that drivers have over many in-vehicle distractions, interventions that focus on strategic decisions and planning may have merit.
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, 71 Frankland Road, Hopkinton, MA 01748, USA. william.horrey@libertymutual.com
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Horrey
authors.forename: Mary F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lesch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001336:Automobiles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload