Impact of Texting-Induced Distraction on Driving Behavior Based on Field Operation Tests

Abstract

Driver distraction has proven to be among the top contributory factors in road crashes worldwide. The involvement of drivers in secondary activities, such as phone usage, conversation with co-passengers, reaching for objects, eating, and so forth, have been shown to be significant causes of in-vehicle driver distraction. Text messaging using mobile phones while driving can be detrimental to the primary driving task as it invokes manual, visual, and cognitive distractions. Numerous studies in the past have analyzed the effect of texting on driver distraction using driving simulators. This study followed a field operation test–based approach to simulate real road conditions and evaluate the impact of texting on driving behavior. The study was conducted at the connected autonomous vehicle testbed at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, using an instrumented test vehicle. Data on gaze parameters and vehicle kinematics were recorded using eye-tracker glasses and a high-end global positioning system (GPS) data logger. Thirty-one participants drove on the pre-defined path at the testbed under baseline and texting conditions. The findings demonstrated that the texting task significantly affected fixation count, mean speed, and lateral acceleration. The texting task led to a reduction in mean fixation counts, mean speed, and mean lateral acceleration by 44.37%, 34%, and 46.72%, respectively. The age and driving experience of the participants had a significant effect on their behavior. The results indicate the critical potential of texting-based driver distraction and suggest the enforcement of stringent rules for texting while driving to create a safer road environment.

Keywords

driver behavior distraction driver performance texting cell phone use human factors gaze behavior

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Hs, DOT. Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2021. No. April, 2023. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813435.

MORTH. Road Accidents in India 2022. Transport Research Wing of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India. 2023. https://Morth.Nic.in/Road-Accident-in-India.

Fernández

Usamentiaga

Carús

J. L.

Casado

Driver Distraction Using Visual-Based Sensors and Algorithms. Sensors (Switzerland), Vol. 16, No. 11, 2016, p. 1805. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16111805.

Najar

S. A.

Sanjram

P. K.

Driving Errors and Gaze Behavior During In-Vehicle Object and Spatial Distractions. Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2021, pp. 381–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1611683.

Strayer

D. L.

Turrill

Cooper

J. M.

Coleman

J. R.

Medeiros-Ward

Biondi

Assessing Cognitive Distraction in the Automobile. Human Factors, Vol. 57, No. 8, 2015, pp. 1300–1324. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720815575149.

Dingus

T. A.

Guo

Lee

Antin

J. F.

Perez

Buchanan-King

Hankey

Driver Crash Risk Factors and Prevalence Evaluation Using Naturalistic Driving Data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 113, No. 10, 2016, pp. 2636–2641. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1513271113.

Mikoski

Zlupko

Owens

D. A.

Drivers’ Assessments of the Risks of Distraction, Poor Visibility at Night, and Safety-Related Behaviors of Themselves and Other Drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 62, 2019, pp. 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.01.011.

Gaspar

J. G.

Brown

T. L.

Matters of State: Examining the Effectiveness of Lane Departure Warnings as a Function of Driver Distraction. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 71, 2020, pp. 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.03.009.

Masello

Sheehan

Castignani

Shannon

Murphy

On the Impact of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems on Driving Distraction and Risky Behaviour: An Empirical Analysis of Irish Commercial Drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 183, 2023, p. 106969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2023.106969.

10.

Choudhary

Velaga

N. R.

Mobile Phone Use During Driving: Effects on Speed and Effectiveness of Driver Compensatory Behaviour. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 106, 2017, pp. 370–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.06.021.

11.

Rumschlag

Palumbo

Martin

Head

George

Commissaris

R. L.

The Effects of Texting on Driving Performance in a Driving Simulator: The Influence of Driver Age. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 74, 2015, pp. 145–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.10.009.

12.

McKeever

J. D.

Schultheis

M. T.

Padmanaban

Blasco

Driver Performance While Texting: Even a Little Is Too Much. Traffic Injury Prevention, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2013, pp. 132–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2012.699695.

13.

Hosking

S. G.

Young

K. L.

Regan

M. A.

The Effects of Text Messaging on Young Drivers. Human Factors, Vol. 51, No. 4, 2009, pp. 582–592. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720809341575.

14.

Foreman

A. M.

Friedel

J. E.

Hayashi

Wirth

Texting While Driving: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 149, 2021, p. 105823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105823.

15.

Moore

M. M.

Brown

P. M.

The Association of Self-Regulation, Habit, and Mindfulness with Texting While Driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 123, 2019, pp. 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.10.013.

16.

Hill

Rybar

Styer

Fram

Merchant

Eastman

Prevalence of and Attitudes About Distracted Driving in College Students. Traffic Injury Prevention, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2015, pp. 362–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2014.949340.

17.

Oviedo-Trespalacios

Getting Away with Texting: Behavioural Adaptation of Drivers Engaging in Visual-Manual Tasks While Driving. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 116, 2018, pp. 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.05.006.

18.

Morgenstern

Schott

Krems

J. F.

Do Drivers Reduce Their Speed When Texting on Highways? A Replication Study Using European Naturalistic Driving Data. Safety Science, Vol. 128, 2020, p. 104740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104740.

19.

Schneidereit

Petzoldt

Keinath

Krems

J. F.

Using SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Data to Assess Drivers’ Speed Choice While Being Engaged in Different Secondary Tasks. Journal of Safety Research, Vol. 62, 2017, pp. 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2017.04.004.

20.

Atwood

Guo

Fitch

Dingus

T. A.

The Driver-Level Crash Risk Associated with Daily Cellphone Use and Cellphone Use While Driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 119, 2018, pp. 149–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.07.007.

21.

Wang

Asmelash

Xing

Lee

Characteristics of Driver Cell Phone Use and Their Influence on Driving Performance: A Naturalistic Driving Study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 148, 2020, p. 105845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105845.

22.

Bastos

J. T.

Dos Santos

P. A. B.

Amancio

E. C.

Gadda

T. M. C.

Ramalho

J. A.

King

M. J.

Oviedo-Trespalacios

Naturalistic Driving Study in Brazil: An Analysis of Mobile Phone Use Behavior While Driving. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 17, No. 17, 2020, p.6412. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176412.

23.

Christoph

Van Nes

Knapper

Naturalistic Driving Observations of Manual and Visual-Manual Interactions with Navigation Systems and Mobile Phones While Driving. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2013. 2365: 31–38.

24.

Simons-Morton

B. G.

Guo

Klauer

S. G.

Ehsani

J. P.

Pradhan

A. K.

Keep Your Eyes on the Road: Young Driver Crash Risk Increases According to Duration of Distraction. Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 54, Supplement 5, 2014, pp. S61–S67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.11.021.

25.

Choudhary

Velaga

N. R.

Effects of Phone Use on Driving Performance: A Comparative Analysis of Young and Professional Drivers. Safety Science, Vol. 111, 2019, pp. 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.07.009.

26.

Yannis

Laiou

Papantoniou

Christoforou

Impact of Texting on Young Drivers’ Behavior and Safety on Urban and Rural Roads through a Simulation Experiment. Journal of Safety Research, Vol. 49, 2014, p. 25.e1–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2014.02.008.

27.

Peng

Boyle

L. N.

Lee

J. D.

Reading, Typing, and Driving: How Interactions with in-Vehicle Systems Degrade Driving Performance. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 27, Part A, 2014, pp. 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2014.06.001.

28.

Drews

F. A.

Yazdani

Godfrey

C. N.

Cooper

J. M.

Strayer

D. L.

Text Messaging during Simulated Driving. Human Factors, Vol. 51, No. 5, 2009, pp. 762–770. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720809353319.

29.

Bendak

Objective Assessment of the Effects of Texting While Driving: A Simulator Study. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2015, pp. 387–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300.2014.942325.

30.

Yager

C. E.

Cooper

J. M.

Chrysler

S. T.

The Effects of Reading and Writing Text-Based Messages While Driving. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2012, pp. 2196–2200. https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181312561463.

31.

Yager

C. E.

Driver Safety Impacts of Voice-to-Text Mobile Applications. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 57, No. 1, 2013, pp. 1869–1873. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541931213571417.

32.

Owens

J. M.

McLaughlin

S. B.

Sudweeks

Driver Performance While Text Messaging Using Handheld and In-Vehicle Systems. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2011, pp. 939–947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.11.019.

33.

Neurauter

Hankey

Schalk

Wallace

Outbound Texting. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2012. 2321: 23–30.

34.

Chaparro

Nguyen

Burge

R. J.

Crandall

Chaparro

Cao

Texting While Driving: Is Speech-Based Text Entry Less Risky than Handheld Text Entry?

Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 72, 2014, pp. 287–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.014.

35.

Choudhary

Velaga

N. R.

Analysis of Vehicle-Based Lateral Performance Measures During Distracted Driving Due to Phone Use. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 44, 2017, pp. 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2016.11.002.

36.

Lin

Impact of Distracted Drivers on Individual and Group Behavior of Following Vehicles: A Networked Multi-Driver Simulator Study. Transportation Research Record, 2018. 2672: 45–54..

37.

Young

K. L.

Lenné

M. G.

Salmon

P. M.

Stanton

N. A.

The Impact of Texting on Driver Behaviour at Rail Level Crossings. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 118, 2018, pp. 269–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.05.002.

38.

Vollrath

Clifford

Huemer

A. K.

Even Experienced Phone Users Drive Worse While Texting—A Driving Simulator Study. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 78, 2021, pp. 218–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2021.02.007.

39.

Choudhary

Gupta

Velaga

N. R.

Perceived Risk vs Actual Driving Performance during Distracted Driving: A Comparative Analysis of Phone Use and Other Secondary Distractions. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 86, 2022, pp. 296–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.001.

40.

Christoph

Wesseling

van Nes

Self-Regulation of Drivers’ Mobile Phone Use: The Influence of Driving Context. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 66, 2019, pp. 262–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.09.012.

41.

Mikoski

Zlupko

Owens

D. A.

42.

Hill

Sullman

M. J. M.

Stephens

A. N.

Mobile Phone Involvement, Beliefs, and Texting While Driving in Ukraine. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 125, 2019, pp. 124–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.035.

43.

Desmet

Diependaele

An Eye-Tracking Study on the Road Examining the Effects of Handsfree Phoning on Visual Attention. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 60, 2019, pp. 549–559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.11.013.

44.

Hashash

Abou Zeid

Moacdieh

N. M.

Social Media Browsing While Driving: Effects on Driver Performance and Attention Allocation. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 63, 2019, pp. 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.03.021.

45.

Tonsen

Baumann

C. K.

Dierkes

A High-Level Description and Performance Evaluation of Pupil Invisible. arXiv, abs/2009.00508, 2020.

46.

Liu

Y. C.

Y. K.

Effects of Age and the Use of Hands-Free Cellular Phones on Driving Behavior and Task Performance. Traffic Injury Prevention, Vol. 12, No. 6, 2011, pp. 550–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2011.607197.

47.

Chen

Zhong

Lyu

Huang

Identification of Common Features of Vehicle Motion under Drowsy/Distracted Driving: A Case Study in Wuhan, China. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 81, 2015, pp. 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.02.021.