Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Drivers easily become distracted when they are talking on the phone, texting, fiddling with the radio dial, or interacting with passengers. In naturalistic driving studies, drivers are observed in their natural. Nhtsa distracted driving research plan april 2010 pdf doths811299. Looking away for two or more seconds will double the risk of a crash or near crash. Nhtsa undertook this nationally representative survey of drivers in order to collect data on the nature and scope of the distracted. Safety administrations driver distraction program nhtsa, 2010, distraction is a specific type of inattention that occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task. Based on a 1996 nhtsa study, the agency estimates that driver distraction in all of its various forms probably contributes to between 20 and 30 percent of all crashes. Driver alertness, attention, reaction time, judgment and decisionmaking are all compromised leading to a greater chance of crashing. The national highway traffic safety administration estimates 10% of fatal crashes 3,328 and 18% of injury crashes 421,000 were attributable to distracted driving in 2012. Research on drowsy driving national highway traffic.
To put it another way, a distraction is anything that takes your eyes off the road visual distraction, your mind off the road cognitive distraction, or your hands off the wheel manual distraction. Appendix b describes limitations in the distracted driving data. Transportation institute releases findings on driver. Visualmanual nhtsa driver distraction guidelines for portable and. This research effort was initiated to provide an unprecedented level of detail concerning driver performance, behavior, environment, driving context and other factors that were associated with critical incidents, near crashes and crashes for 100 drivers across a period of one year. Text reading and text input assessment in support of the nhtsa visualmanual driver distraction guidelines, dot hs. Driver distraction is a high priority topic for nhtsa. Nhtsas research on driver distraction to evaluate the contribution of driver distraction to crashes, nhtsa began conducting research in 1991 on the relationship between distractions and driving performance. This program lays out nhtsa s efforts to address it. Driver distraction has been identified as a highpriority topic by the national highway traffic safety administration, reflecting concerns about the compatibility of certain invehicle technologies with the driving task, whether drivers are making potentially dangerous. This paper will summarize past nhtsa research in the area of driver distraction and workload, provide an.
Nhtsa has conducted research in the area of driver distraction and workload since 1991. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep americas roads safe. Nhtsa study sheds light on the causes of rearend accidents. Nhtsa pedestrian and driver distraction study nhtsa office of behavioral safety research project lead was kristie johnson, ph. Car safety systems lead to distracted driving, aaa study finds. Distracted driving refers to the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the. Transportation institute releases findings on driver behavior and crash factors april 20, 2006 driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and nearcrashes, according to a landmark research report released today by the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa and the virginia tech transportation institute vtti. Summary of naturalistic driving study distraction risk analyses c. National motor vehicle crash causation survey nmvccs. This count refers to the total commentsubmissions received on this docket, as of 11. Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 2,841 lives in 2018 alone.
Studies have documented a link between distracted driving and diminished safety. At a states request, nhtsa will send a team of experts to analyze and make recommendations to improve the driver education program. The same study found a teen male driver engaged in more distracted driving behavior if his passenger was a female and not a male. A similar study in 2011 found that a female teen driver was more susceptible to peer influence by other passengers to engage in distracted driving behaviors opposed to a male. Goodman nhtsa, research and development view entire paper abstract driver distraction is a high priority topic for nhtsa. Driver distraction has been identified as a highpriority topic by the national highway traffic safety administration, reflecting concerns about the. Driver distractions are the leading cause of most vehicle collisions and near collisions. Past present and future find, read and cite all the research you. There are different types of driver distraction, usually divided into those where the source of distraction is internal to the vehicle such as tuning a radio, or using a mobile phone, and those external to. Explanatory material about the definition of a task used in nhtsas driver distraction guidelines and task example s, dot hs 811 858, november 20.
These car safety systems lead to distracted driving, according to aaa study. The national highway traffic safety administrations mission is to save. Driver distraction is a significant and difficult safety problem to address. Phase 1 experimental design 2002 dot hs 809 536 to determine when and if a driver is performing safely an objective means to evaluate driver behavior a metric needs to be developed.
Distraction is anything that diverts the drivers attention from the primary tasks of. In recent years, the most frequent form of distraction while driving has been due to cell phone use and texting. Nhtsa research to develop driver distraction metrics and measurement methods a. Nhtsa offers statewide assessments of driver education programs based on the national driver education administrative standards.
According to nhtsas national motor vehicle crash causation study nmvccs, drowsy drivers involved in a crash are twice as likely to make performance errors as compared to drivers who are not fatigued. Current and previous nhtsa research investigates how distraction impacts driver performance, and develops and evaluated vehiclebased countermeasures to minimize the negative effects. Driver distraction is a specific type of driver inattention. The alltime high death rate for distracted driving was reported in 2007 when 5,917 people died due to accidents caused by distracted drivers. Past nhtsa research truck driver workload study nhtsas first major effort in this area was the truck driver workload study, conducted between 1992 and 1995 tijerina, 1996. Distraction occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity. Distracted driving and driver, roadway, and environmental. Nhtsa driver distraction guidelines phase 1 regulations. Overview of nhtsa driver education program technical assessment process. At that time, a variety of products were beginning to be offered for use in heavy trucks, mostly for tracking of vehicles and to. Such information can be used to evaluate these crash. Each day in the united states, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. This document was an update of the overview of the national highway traffic safety administrations driver distraction program 2.
Nhtsa light vehicle antilock brake systems research program task 4. The findings of these studies will inform development of phase 3 of nhtsas driver distraction guidelines. Pdf on jan 1, 2000, east liberty and others published nhtsa driver distraction research. According to a study released by the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa and the virginia tech transportation institute vtti, 80 percent of collisions and 65 percent of near collisions involve some form of driver distraction. The distraction can be caused by anything that draws the driver s attention away from the road. Appendix c discusses the specific coding for distracted driving data from the national motor vehicle crash causation survey nmvccs. Click on the title to download this paper adobe portable document format version 5. Nhtsas 2007 driver cell phone use observational study estimated that about 6 percent of drivers are using handheld phones at any given time. Nhtsa is engaged in efforts to be able to measure driver workload, performance and driver distraction. Trais national highway traffic safety administration. Goodman nhtsa research and development, washington, dc paper number 233 abstract driver distraction has been identified as a high. The national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa. Distraction national highway traffic safety administration.
Distracted driving research national safety council. A national highway traffic safety administration survey found 20% of drivers age 1820 said texting does not affect their driving, and nearly 30% of drivers ages 24 said texting has no. Approximately 70 percent of distracted drivers crashes were either noncollision. Numerous research studies have addressed driver distraction. Timeline of nhtsa driver distraction measurement research b. Driver distraction causes most accidents, study finds. Bonanti associate administrator rulemaking, nhtsa nhtsas driver distraction guidelines informal document wp. Nhtsa leads the fight nationally against distracted driving by educating americans about its dangers and partnering with the states and local police to enforce laws against distracted driving that help keep us safe. Nhtsa has concerns that drivers are making potentially dangerous decisions about when to interact with invehicle technologies while driving and that this trend may accelerate as new technologies become increasingly available and easier to use. Almost 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes in this study involved the driver looking away from the forward roadway just prior to the crash. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.
That document describes that distraction is a subset of inattention which. Nhtsanasa study of unintended acceleration in toyota. Nhtsa s campaigns and public service announcements make the case to americans that safe driving means driving without distractions. Nhtsas 20 cell phone naturalistic driving study found that 28. Driver distraction or workload reflects three major influences. Previous research indicates dedicated law enforcement over a specified period coupled with enforcementbased messaging can reduce observed electronic device use rates. The present study examined the behavior of teens and young adults operating a driving simulator while engaged. Driver distraction is the voluntary or involuntary diversion of attention from the primary driving tasks not related to impairment from alcohol, drugs, fatigue, or a medical condition where the diversion occurs because the driver is performing an additional task or tasks and temporarily focusing on an object, event, or person. This notice details the contents of the first phase of the nhtsa driver distraction guidelines. Distraction national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa.
Impact of distracted driving on safety and traffic flow. Existing research has focused primarily on assessing driver distraction in. Young drivers report highest level of phone involvement in crash or nearcrash incidences. Safety administrations driver distraction program dot hs 811 299, distraction is a specific type of inattention that occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity instead. Invehicle voice control interface performance evaluation. The same case study also reveals that roughly 1,000 people are injured every 24 hours in the us, following their involvement in crashes that were caused by distracted drivers. Distraction is anything that diverts the driver s attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events.
People know using phone while driving is bad, do it anyway. Nhtsa leads the national effort to save lives by preventing this dangerous behavior. The us national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa discovered that 35 to 50. A test track study of light vehicle abs performance over a broad range of surfaces and maneuvers. Traffic safety facts us department of transportation. Nhtsanasa study of unintended acceleration in toyota vehicles the department of transportation released results from an unprecedented tenmonth study of potential electronicsbased causes for unintended acceleration in toyota vehicles. A study analyzed by bloomberg found that 10 percent of drivers are distracted up to 20 percent of the time theyre out on the road when laws are put in place against distracted driving, drivers. Nhtsa is issuing nonbinding, voluntary nhtsa driver distraction guidelines nhtsa guidelines to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of excessively distracting devices in vehicles. Distracted driving governors traffic safety committee. Distracted driving research, infographics teens and young drivers. Consequently, nhtsa is issuing nonbinding, voluntary driver distraction guidelines nhtsa guidelines to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of excessively distracting devices. Riley garrott nhtsa vehicle test and research center, east liberty, oh michael j. Distracted driving motor vehicle safety cdc injury center. Nhtsa has been researching driver distraction with respect to both behavioral and vehicle safety countermea sures in an effort to understand and mitigate crashes asso ciated with driver distraction.
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