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Driving Transportation with Technology 

Sherri Box 
PR & Marketing Manager 

3500 Transportation Research Plaza (0536) 
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 
540/231-1549  Fax: 540/231-1555 
E-mail: sbox@vtti.vt.edu

 

www.vtti.vt.edu

 

New

 

Data

 

from

 

VTTI

 

Provides

 

Insight

 

into

 

Cell

 

Phone

 

Use

 

and

 

Driving

 

Distraction

 

 

Blacksburg,

 

Va.,

 

July

 

27,

 

2009

 

–

 

Several

 

large

‐

scale,

 

naturalistic

 

driving

 

studies

 

(using

 

sophisticated

 

cameras

 

and

 

instrumentation

 

in

 

participants’

 

personal

 

vehicles)

 

conducted

 

by

 

the

 

Virginia

 

Tech

 

Transportation

 

Institute

 

(VTTI),

 

provide

 

a

 

clear

 

picture

 

of

 

driver

 

distraction

 

and

 

cell

 

phone

 

use

 

under

 

real

‐

world

 

driving

 

conditions.

  

Combined,

 

these

 

studies

 

continuously

 

observed

 

drivers

 

for

 

more

 

than

 

6

 

million

 

miles

 

of

 

driving.

  

A

 

snapshot

 

of

 

risk

 

estimates

 

from

 

these

 

studies

 

is

 

shown

 

in

 

the

 

table

 

below.

   

 

“Given

 

recent

 

catastrophic

 

crash

 

events

 

and

 

disturbing

 

trends,

 

there

 

is

 

an

 

alarming

 

amount

 

of

 

misinformation

 

and

 

confusion

 

regarding

 

cell

 

phone

 

and

 

texting

 

use

 

while

 

behind

 

the

 

wheel

 

of

 

a

 

vehicle.

  

The

 

findings

 

from

 

our

 

research

 

at

 

VTTI

 

can

 

help

 

begin

 

to

 

clear

 

up

 

these

 

misconceptions

 

as

 

it

 

is

 

based

 

on

 

real

‐

world

 

driving

 

data.

  

We

 

conduct

 

transportation

 

safety

 

research

 

in

 

an

 

effort

 

to

 

equip

 

the

 

public

 

with

 

information

 

that

 

can

 

save

 

lives,”

 

says

 

Dr.

 

Tom

 

Dingus,

 

director

 

of

 

the

 

Virginia

 

Tech

 

Transportation

 

Institute.

 

 

In

 

VTTI’s

 

studies

 

that

 

included

 

light

 

vehicle

 

drivers

 

and

 

truck

 

drivers,

 

manual

 

manipulation

 

of

 

phones

 

such

 

as

 

dialing

 

and

 

texting

 

of

 

the

 

cell

 

phone

 

lead

 

to

 

a

 

substantial

 

increase

 

in

 

the

 

risk

 

of

 

being

 

involved

 

in

 

a

 

safety

‐

critical

 

event

 

(e.g.,

 

crash

 

or

 

near

 

crash).

  

However,

 

talking

 

or

 

listening

 

increased

 

risk

 

much

 

less

 

for

 

light

 

vehicles

 

and

 

not

 

at

 

all

 

for

 

trucks.

  

Text

 

messaging

 

on

 

a

 

cell

 

phone

 

was

 

associated

 

with

 

the

 

highest

 

risk

 

of

 

all

 

cell

 

phone

 

related

 

tasks.

   

 

CELL

 

PHONE

 

TASK

 

Risk

 

of

 

Crash

 

or

 

Near

 

Crash

 

event

 

Light

 

Vehicle/Cars

 

 

Dialing

 

Cell

 

Phone

 

2.8

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Talking/Listening

 

to

 

Cell

 

Phone

 

1.3

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Reaching

 

for

 

object

 

(i.e.

 

electronic

  

device

 

and

 

other)

1.4

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Heavy

 

Vehicles/Trucks

 

 

Dialing

 

Cell

 

phone

 

5.9

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Talking/Listening

 

to

 

Cell

 

Phone

 

1.0

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Use/Reach

 

for

 

electronic

 

device

 

6.7

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Text

 

messaging

 

23.2

 

times

 

as

 

high

 

as

 

non

‐

distracted

 

driving

 

Explanation

 

of

 

Findings

  

Eye

 

glance

 

analyses

 

were

 

conducted

 

to

 

assess

 

where

 

drivers

 

were

 

looking

 

while

 

involved

 

in

 

a

 

safety

‐

critical

 

event

 

and

 

performing

 

cell

 

phone

 

tasks.

  

The

 

tasks

 

that

 

draw

 

the

 

driver’s

 

eyes

 

away

 

from

 

the

 

forward

 

roadway

 

were

 

those

 

with

 

the

 

highest

 

risk.

  

 

 

Several

 

recent

 

high

 

visibility

 

trucking

 

and

 

transit

 

crashes

 

have

 

been

 

directly

 

linked

 

to

 

texting

 

from

 

a

 

cell

 

phone.

  

VTTI’s

 

research

 

showed

 

that

 

text

 

messaging,

 

which

 

had

 

the

 

highest

 

risk

 

of

 

over

 

20

 

times

 

worse

  

than

 

driving

 

while

 

not

 

using

 

a

 

phone,

 

also

 

had

 

the

 

longest

 

duration

 

of

 

eyes

 

off

 

road

 

time

 

(4.6

 

s

 

over

 

a

 

6

‐

s

 

interval).

 

This

 

equates

 

to

 

a

 

driver

 

traveling

 

the

 

length

 

of

 

a

 

football

 

field

 

at

 

55

 

mph

 

without

 

looking

 

at

 

the

 

roadway.

  

Talking/listening

 

to

 

a

 

cell

 

phone

 

allowed

 

drivers

 

to

 

maintain

 

eyes

 

on

 

the

 

road

 

and

 

were

 

not

 

associated

 

with

 

an

 

increased

 

safety

 

risk

 

to

 

nearly

 

the

 

same

 

degree.

   

 

Recent

 

results

 

from

 

other

 

researchers

 

using

 

driving

 

simulators

 

suggest

 

that

 

talking

 

and

 

listening

 

is

 

as

 

dangerous

 

as

 

visually

 

distracting

 

cell

 

phone

 

tasks.

  

The

 

results

 

from

 

VTTI’s

 

naturalistic

 

driving

 

studies

 

clearly

 

indicate

 

that

 

this

 

is

 

not

 

the

 

case.

  

For

 

example,

 

talking

 

and

 

listening

 

to

 

a

 

cell

 

phone

 

is

 

not

 

nearly

 

as

 

risky

 

as

 

driving

 

while

 

drunk

 

at

 

the

 

legal

 

limit

 

of

 

alcohol.

  

Recent

 

comparisons

 

made

 

in

 

the

 

literature

 

greatly

 

exaggerate

 

the

 

cell

 

phone

 

risk

 

relative

 

to

 

the

 

very

 

serious

 

effects

 

of

 

alcohol

 

use,

 

which

 

increases

 

the

 

risk

 

of

 

a

 

fatal

 

crash

 

approximately

 

seven

 

times

 

that

 

of

 

sober

 

driving.

  

Using

 

simple

 

fatal

 

crash

 

and

 

phone

 

use

 

statistics,

 

if

 

talking

 

on

 

cell

 

phones

 

was

 

as

 

risky

 

as

 

driving

 

while

 

drunk,

 

the

 

number

 

of

 

fatal

 

crashes

 

would

 

have

 

increased

 

roughly

 

50%

 

in

 

the

 

last

 

decade

 

instead

 

of

 

remaining

 

largely

 

unchanged.

    

 

These

 

results

 

show

 

conclusively

 

that

 

a

 

real

 

key

 

to

 

significantly

 

improving

 

safety

 

is

 

keeping

 

your

 

eyes

 

on

 

the

 

road

.

  

In

 

contrast,

 

“cognitively

 

intense”

 

tasks

 

(e.g.,

 

emotional

 

conversations,

 

“books

‐

on

‐

tape”,

 

etc.)

  

can

 

have

 

a

 

measurable

 

effect

 

in

 

the

 

laboratory,

 

but

 

the

 

actual

 

driving

 

risks

 

are

 

much

 

lower

 

in

 

comparison.

   

 

VTTI’s

 

recommendations

 

(based

 

on

 

findings

 

from

 

research

 

studies)

 

•

 

Driving

 

is

 

a

 

visual

 

task

 

and

 

non

‐

driving

 

activities

 

that

 

draw

 

the

 

driver’s

 

eyes

 

away

 

from

 

the

 

roadway,

 

such

 

as

 

texting

 

and

 

dialing,

 

should

 

always

 

be

 

avoided.

    

 

•

 

Texting

 

should

 

be

 

banned

 

in

 

moving

 

vehicles

 

for

 

all

 

drivers.

   

As

 

shown

 

in

 

the

 

table,

 

this

 

cell

 

phone

 

task

 

has

 

the

 

potential

 

to

 

create

 

a

 

true

 

crash

 

epidemic

 

if

 

texting

‐

type

 

tasks

 

continue

 

to

 

grow

 

in

 

popularity

 

and

 

the

 

generation

 

of

 

frequent

 

text

 

message

 

senders

 

reach

 

driving

 

age

 

in

 

large

 

numbers.

 

 

•

 

“Headset”

 

cell

 

phone

 

use

 

is

 

not

 

substantially

 

safer

 

than

 

“hand

‐

held”

 

use

 

because

 

the

 

primary

 

risk

 

is

 

associated

 

with

 

both

 

tasks

 

is

 

answering,

 

dialing,

 

and

 

other

 

tasks

 

that

 

require

 

your

 

eyes

 

to

 

be

 

off

 

the

 

road.

  

In

 

contrast,

 

“true

 

hands

‐

free”

 

phone

 

use,

 

such

 

as

 

voice

 

activated

 

systems,

 

are

 

less

 

risky

 

if

 

they

 

are

 

designed

 

well

 

enough

 

so

 

the

 

driver

 

does

 

not

 

have

 

to

 

take

 

their

 

eyes

 

off

 

the

 

road

 

often

 

or

 

for

 

long

 

periods.

 

 

•

 

All

 

cell

 

phone

 

use

 

should

 

be

 

banned

 

for

 

newly

 

licensed

 

teen

 

drivers.

  

Our

 

research

 

has

 

shown

 

that

 

teens

 

tend

 

to

 

engage

 

in

 

cell

 

phone

 

tasks

 

much

 

more

 

frequently,

 

and

 

in

 

much

 

more

 

risky

 

situations,

 

than

 

adults.

  

Thus,

 

our

 

studies

 

indicate

 

that

 

teens

 

are

 

four

 

times

 

more

 

likely

 

to

 

get

 

into

 

a

 

related

 

crash

 

or

 

near

 

crash

 

event

 

than

 

their

 

adult

 

counterparts.

   

 

The

 

Disconnect

 

Between

 

Naturalistic

 

and

 

Simulator

 

Research

 

It

 

is

 

important

 

to

 

keep

 

in

 

mind

 

that

 

a

 

driving

 

simulator

 

is

 

not

 

actual

 

driving.

  

Driving

 

simulators

 

engage

 

participants

 

in

 

tracking

 

tasks

 

in

 

a

 

laboratory.

 

As

 

such,

 

researchers

 

that

 

conduct

 

simulator

 

studies

 

must

 

be

 

cautious

 

when

 

suggesting

 

that

 

conclusions

 

based

 

on

 

simulator

 

studies

 

are

 

applicable

 

to

 

actual

 

driving.

  

With

 

the

 

introduction

 

of

 

naturalistic

 

driving

 

studies

 

that

 

record

 

drivers

 

(through

 

continuous

 

 

V I R G I N I A   P O L Y T E C H N I C   I N S T I T U T E   A N D   S T A T E   U N I V E R S I T Y  

A n   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t y ,   a f f i r m a t i v e   a c t i o n   i n s t i t u t i o n

 

 

video

 

and

 

kinematic

 

sensors)

 

in

 

actual

 

driving

 

situations,

 

we

 

now

 

have

 

a

 

scientific

 

method

 

to

 

study

 

driver

 

behavior

 

in

 

real

‐

world

 

driving

 

conditions

 

in

 

the

 

presence

 

of

 

real

‐

world

 

daily

 

pressures.

  

As

 

such,

 

if

 

the

 

point

 

of

 

transportation

 

safety

 

research

 

is

 

to

 

understand

 

driver

 

behavior

 

in

 

the

 

real

‐

world

 

(e.g.,

 

increase

 

crash

 

risk

 

due

 

to

 

cell

 

phone

 

use),

 

and

 

when

 

conflicting

 

findings

 

occur

 

between

 

naturalistic

 

studies

 

and

 

simulator

 

studies,

 

findings

 

from

 

the

 

real

‐

world,

 

and

 

not

 

the

 

simulator

‐

world,

 

must

 

be

 

considered

 

the

 

gold

 

standard.

 

 

It

 

is

 

also

 

critical

 

to

 

note

 

that

 

some

 

results

 

of

 

recent

 

naturalistic

 

driving

 

studies,

 

including

 

those

 

highlighted

 

here

 

as

 

well

 

as

 

others

 

(e.g.,

 

Sayer,

 

Devonshire

 

and

 

Flanagan,

 

2007)

 

are

 

at

 

odds

 

with

 

results

 

obtained

 

from

 

simulator

 

studies.

  

Future

 

research

 

is

 

necessary

 

to

 

explore

 

the

 

reasons

 

why

 

simulator

 

studies

 

sometimes

 

do

 

not

 

reflect

 

studies

 

conducted

 

in

 

actual

 

driving

 

conditions

 

(i.e.,

 

the

 

full

 

context

 

of

 

the

 

driving

 

environment).

  

It

 

may

 

be,

 

as

 

Sayer,

 

Devonshire

 

and

 

Flanagan

 

(2007)

 

note,

 

that

 

controlled

 

investigations

 

cannot

 

account

 

for

 

driver

 

choice

 

behavior

 

and

 

risk

 

perception

 

as

 

it

 

actually

 

occurs

 

in

 

real

‐

world

 

driving.

  

If

 

this

 

assessment

 

is

 

accurate,

 

the

 

generalizability

 

of

 

simulator

 

findings,

 

at

 

least

 

in

 

some

 

cases,

 

may

 

be

 

greatly

 

limited

 

outside

 

of

 

the

 

simulated

 

environment.

  

 

NOTE:

  

Dr.

 

Rich

 

Hanowski,

 

Director

 

of

 

the

 

Center

 

for

 

Truck

 

and

 

Bus

 

Safety

 

at

 

VTTI,

 

will

 

be

 

presenting

 

the

 

results

 

of

 

his

 

study

 

directed

 

at

 

Driver

 

Distraction

 

in

 

Commercial

 

Motor

 

Vehicle

 

Operations,

 

at

 

the

 

First

 

International

 

Conference

 

on

 

Driver

 

Distraction

 

and

 

Inattention

 

in

 

Gothenburg,

 

Sweden,

 

September

 

28

‐

29,

 

2009.

  

 

References

 

Blanco,

 

M.,

 

Bocanegra,

 

J.L.,

 

Morgan,

 

J.F.,

 

Fitch,

 

G.M.,

 

Medina,

 

Olson,

 

R.L.,

 

Hanowski,

 

R.J.,

 

Daily,

 

B.,

 

&

 

Zimmermann,

 

R.P.

 

(April,

 

2009).

 

Assessment

 

of

 

a

 

Drowsy

 

Driver

 

Warning

 

System

 

for

 

Heavy

 

Vehicle

 

Drivers:

 

Final

 

Report.

 

Report

 

No.

 

DOT

 

HS

 

811

 

117.

  

Washington,

 

DC:

  

National

 

Highway

 

Traffic

 

Safety

 

Administration.

 

http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=10451&utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=Tran
sportation%20Research%20Board&utm_campaign=TRB+E

‐

Newsletter+

‐

+05

‐

27

‐

2009&utm_content=Customer&utm_term

  

Blanco,

 

M.,

 

Hickman,

 

J.S.

 

Olson,

 

R.L.,

 

Bocanegra,

 

J.L.,

 

Hanowski,

 

R.J.,

 

Nakata,

 

A.,

 

Greening,

 

M.,

 

Madison,

 

P.,

 

Holbrook,

 

G.T.,

 

and

 

Bowman,

 

D.

 

(in

 

press).

 

Investigating

 

Critical

 

Incidents,

 

Driver

 

Restart

 

Period,

 

Sleep

 

Quantity,

 

and

 

Crash

 

Countermeasures

 

in

 

Commercial

 

Operations

 

Using

 

Naturalistic

 

Data

 

Collection:

 

Final

 

Report

 

(Contract

 

No.

 

DTFH61

‐

01

‐

C

‐

00049,

 

Task

 

Order

 

#

 

23).

 

Washington,

 

DC:

  

Federal

 

Motor

 

Carrier

 

Safety

 

Administration.

 

 

Dingus,

 

T.

 

A.,

 

Klauer,

 

S.

 

G.,

 

Neale,

 

V.

 

L.,

 

Petersen,

 

A.,

 

Lee,

 

S.

 

E.,

 

Sudweeks,

 

J.,

 

Perez,

 

M.

 

A.,

  

Hankey,

 

J.,

 

Ramsey,

 

D.,

 

Gupta,

 

S.,

 

Bucher,

 

C.,

 

Doerzaph,

 

Z.

 

R.,

 

Jermeland,

 

J.,

 

and

 

Knipling,

 

R.R.

 

(2006).

  

The

 

100

‐

Car

 

Naturalistic

 

Driving

 

Study:

 

Phase

 

II

 

–

 

Results

 

of

 

the

 

100

‐

Car

 

Field

 

Experiment.

 

 

(Interim

 

Project

 

Report

 

for

 

DTNH22

‐

00

‐

C

‐

07007,

 

Task

 

Order

 

6;

 

Report

 

No.

 

DOT

 

HS

 

810

 

593).

  

Washington,

 

D.C.:

 

National

 

Highway

 

Traffic

 

Safety

 

Administration.

 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crash%20Avoidance/
Driver%20Distraction/100CarMain.pdf

  

 

Driver

 

Distraction

 

in

 

Commercial

 

Motor

 

Vehicles

 

Project

 

Webinar

 

 

V I R G I N I A   P O L Y T E C H N I C   I N S T I T U T E   A N D   S T A T E   U N I V E R S I T Y  

A n   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t y ,   a f f i r m a t i v e   a c t i o n   i n s t i t u t i o n

 

 

 

V I R G I N I A   P O L Y T E C H N I C   I N S T I T U T E   A N D   S T A T E   U N I V E R S I T Y  

A n   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t y ,   a f f i r m a t i v e   a c t i o n   i n s t i t u t i o n

 

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts

‐

research/art

‐

webinars

‐

desc.asp?webID=32

 

 

Federal

 

Motor

 

Carrier

 

Safety

 

Administration

 

Driving

 

Tips

 

Website:

  

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/outreach/education/driverTips/index.htm

 

Hanowski,

 

R.J.,

 

Blanco,

 

M.,

 

Nakata,

 

A.,

 

Hickman,

 

J.S.,

 

Schaudt,

 

W.A.,

 

Fumero,

 

M.C.,

 

Olson,

 

R.L.,

 

Jermeland,

 

J.,

 

Greening,

 

M.,

 

Holbrook,

 

G.T.,

 

Knipling,

 

R.R.,

 

&

 

Madison,

 

P.

 

(September,

 

2008).

  

The

 

drowsy

 

driver

 

warning

 

system

 

field

 

operational

 

test,

 

data

 

collection

 

methods

 

final

 

report

.

 

Report

 

No.

 

DOT

 

HS

 

810

 

035.

  

Washington,

 

DC:

  

National

 

Highway

 

Traffic

 

Safety

 

Administration.

 

URL:

http://nhtsa.com/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crash%20Avoidance/2008

/810035.pdf

 

 

Hanowski,

 

R.J.,

 

Olson,

 

R.L.,

 

Hickman,

 

J.S.,

 

and

 

Bocanegra,

 

J.

 

(in

 

press).

  

Driver

 

distraction

 

in

  

commercial

 

vehicle

 

operations.

  

Paper

 

to

 

be

 

presented

 

at

 

the

 

First

 

International

 

Conference

 

on

 

Driver

 

Distraction

 

and

 

Inattention

 

in

 

Gothenburg,

 

Sweden,

 

September

 

28

‐

29,

 

2009

 

(

http://www.chalmers.se/safer/driverdistraction

‐

en

)

 

.

 

 

Klauer,

 

S.

 

G.,

 

Dingus,

 

T.

 

A.,

 

Neale,

 

V.

 

L.,

 

Sudweeks,

 

J.D.,

 

and

 

Ramsey,

 

D.

 

J.

 

(2006).

 

The

  

Impact

 

on

 

Driver

 

Inattention

 

on

 

Near

 

Crash/Crash

 

Risk:

 

An

 

Analysis

 

Using

 

the

 

100

 

Car

 

Naturalistic

 

Driving

 

Study

 

Data

 

(Report

 

No.

 

DOT

 

HS

 

810

 

594

).

 

Washington,

 

DC:

 

National

 

Highway

 

Traffic

 

Safety

 

Administration.

 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crash%20Avoidance/
Driver%20Distraction/810594.pdf

  

 

Sayer,

 

J.

 

R,

 

Devonshire,

 

J.

 

M.,

 

and

 

Flanagan,

 

C.

 

A.

 

(2007).

 

Naturalistic

 

driving

 

performance

 

during

 

secondary

 

tasks.

 

Proceedings

 

of

 

the

 

Fourth

 

International

 

Driving

 

Symposium

 

on

 

Human

 

Factors

 

in

 

Driver

 

Assessment,

 

Training

 

and

 

Vehicle

 

Design.

 

http://ppc.uiowa.edu/driving

‐

assessment/2007/proceedings/papers/039_SayerDevonshire.pdf