Description

Distracted driving related to cell phone usage ranks among the top three causes of fatal crashes on the road. Although forty-eight of 50 U.S. states allow the use of personal devices if operated hands-free and secured in the vehicle, scientific studies have yet to quantify the safety improvement presumed to be introduced by voice-to-text interactions. Thus, this study investigated how different modes of interaction of drivers with a smart phone (i.e., manual texting vs. vocal input) affect drivers’ distraction and performance in both conventional and semi-autonomous vehicles. The study was executed in a full-car integrated simulator and tested a population of 32 drivers. The study considered two scenarios: (1) conventional manual driving in a suburban environment with intersection stops; and (2) control takeover from an engaged autonomous vehicle that reverted to manual driving at a highway exit. The quality of execution of maneuvers as well as timing and tracking of eye-gaze focus areas were assessed in both scenarios. Results demonstrated that while participants perceived an increased level of safety while using the hands-free interface, response times and drift did not significantly differ from those manually texting. Furthermore, even though participants perceived a greater effort in accomplishing the text reply through the manual interface, none of the measured quantities for driving performance or eye-gaze focus revealed statistical difference between the two interfaces, ultimately calling into question the assumption of greater safety implicit in the laws allowing hands-free devices.

Publication Date

Spring 1-1-2020

Publication Type

Report

Topic

Transportation Technology

Digital Object Identifier

10.31979/mti.2020.1813

MTI Project

1813

Keywords

Driver performance, Distraction, Text messaging, Autonomous vehicle handover, Reaction time

Disciplines

Automotive Engineering | Transportation Engineering

Additional Files
1813-RB-Favaro-Impact-Smart-Phones-Driving-Performance-AVs.pdf (1776 kB)
Research Brief
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