title: Divided attention in young drivers under the influence of alcohol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present research evaluates driving impairment linked to divided attention task and alcohol and determines whether it is higher for novice drivers than for experienced drivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Novice and experienced drivers participated in three experimental sessions in which blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were 0.0 g/L, 0.2 g/L, and 0.5 g/L. They performed a divided attention task with a main task of car-following task and an additional task of number parity identification. Driving performance, response time and accuracy on the additional task were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ANOVA showed a driving impairment and a decrease in additional task performance from a BAC of 0.5 g/L, particularly for novice drivers. Indeed, the latter adopt more risky behavior such as tailgating. In the divided attention task, driving impairment was found for all drivers and impairment on information processing accuracy was highlighted, notably in peripheral vision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The divided attention task used here provides a relevant method for identifying the effects of alcohol on cognitive functions and could be used in psychopharmacological research.
authors.affiliation: IFSTTAR, LMA - French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (Mechanisms of Accidents Laboratory), 304 Chemin de la Croix Blanche, 13300 Salon de Provence, France; CNRS, LPL - National Center for Scientific Research (Laboratoire Parole & Langage - UMR 7309), 5 Avenue Pasteur, 13100 Aix en Provence, France. Electronic address: chloe.freydier@lpl-aix.fr.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Freydier
authors.affiliation: IFSTTAR, LMA - French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (Mechanisms of Accidents Laboratory), 304 Chemin de la Croix Blanche, 13300 Salon de Provence, France. Electronic address: catherine.berthelon@ifsttar.fr.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berthelon
authors.affiliation: CNRS, LPL - National Center for Scientific Research (Laboratoire Parole & Langage - UMR 7309), 5 Avenue Pasteur, 13100 Aix en Provence, France. Electronic address: mireille.bastien@lpl-aix.fr.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bastien-Toniazzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Information, Hospital Center, 207 Avenue Julien Fabre, 13300 Salon de Provence, France. Electronic address: ggineyt@ch-salon.fr.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gineyt
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol; Car following; Divided attention; Driving experience; Simulator