TRB Pubsindex
Text Size:
x

« Prev Next »

Return to Results | New Search

Bookmark and Share

Title:

Text Messaging While Driving: User Experience and Interface Type

Accession Number:

01519638

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Driver distraction often contributes to driver fatalities and motor vehicle collisions. In- vehicle tasks, performed while driving, have been shown to increase crash risk by a factor of four. Of the many in-vehicle tasks that negatively affect drivers’ performance, texting while driving has been found to correlate with longer glances away from the road which in turn affect vehicle control measures such as speed, steering and lane deviation. Nevertheless, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has yet focused on how texting might affect higher cognitive skills such as drivers’ ability to anticipate latent hazards, a skill that correlates with traffic crashes. Nor has anyone looked at how the effects of experience with texting or the interface to the texting device (the form factor) might influence hazard anticipation. In this study, 32 drivers – 16 frequent and 16 infrequent texters – were asked to drive in a simulator while performing various texting tasks. There were four experimental groups (Blackberry – Frequent, Blackberry – Infrequent, iPhone – Frequent and iPhone-Infrequent). Drivers were asked to text during three out of six scenarios while their eye movements were monitored. The results are consistent with the conclusion that when texting, both frequent and infrequent texters are less likely to glance at a latent hazard than when not texting. Furthermore, frequent texters do not anticipate more hazards than do infrequent texters. Finally, the type of device did not have a significant impact on hazard anticipation. The results suggest that texting while driving compromises driver safety regardless of whether drivers are good texters or sending messages on a more user friendly device.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AND10 Vehicle User Characteristics.

Monograph Accession #:

01503729

Report/Paper Numbers:

14-1833

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Samuel, Siby
Borowsky, Avinoam
Fisher, Donald L

Pagination:

14p

Publication Date:

2014

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC
Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Uncontrolled Terms:

Anticipatory skills

Subject Areas:

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-1833

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 27 2014 2:39PM