title: Constructing a publically available distracted driving database and research tool.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of the current work was to create a publicly available visualization tool of distracted driving research, the purpose of which is to allow the public and other stakeholders to empirically inform questions of their choice that may bear on policy discussions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty years of distracted driving research was used to design a comprehensive database of studies that evaluated the effects of distraction on driving performance. Distraction sources (e.g., texting, talking, visual distraction) and performance measures were defined, and the sample of studies were evaluated and categorized by their measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The final product yielded 342 studies using various methodologies. Across all measures, 1297 found distractions degraded driving performance, 54 found distraction improved driving performance, and 257 found distraction had no effect on driving performance. An analysis of the most common phone distractions (texting and talking) showed that texting almost always results in degraded performance. Aggregate data reveal no difference in performance decrements for hand-held or hands-free phones even though single studies of those variables vary in their outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This project illustrates how scientific research can be made publically available for use by a diverse audience of stakeholders. An important result of this project is that data aggregated along a simple set of characteristics such as whether or not performance is decreased, improved or not affected, can reveal trends in the data that are less clear from any individual study.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Department of Psychology, USA. Electronic address: patchley@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Atchley
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Department of Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: Ashleigh V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Department of Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Salehinejad
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040421:Cell Phone; D016208:Databases, Factual; D000071826:Distracted Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012449:Safety; D060145:Text Messaging
keywords: Distracted driving; Driving performance; Research database