Abstract
Although most countries have made cell phone use while driving illegal, the drivers still use it both for calling and texting, increasing worries related to sanitary aspects, among these the effects on driving performance and road safety. There are many studies that have investigated the distraction factors related to phone use while driving. Specifically, experimental studies using driving simulators, closed-track driving courses, and naturalistic driving while using a mobile phone have reported a variety of driving impairments. This article firstly provides a review of the state-of-the-art and then, after a discussion of the great advantages of studying drivers' performance using driving simulation, a full simulator study on the effects of mobile phone while driving is presented. Finally, future research direction is addressed.
TopOverview
With the strong improvement of communication technologies provided as original equipment in the vehicle and portable equipment brought into the vehicle, the electronic communication devices, such as mobile telephones, are receiving increasing attention regarding their influence on driving performance and road safety.
Although drink driving, speeding and non-wearing of seatbelts remain recurrent key issues in all Countries and the experience has shown that efforts on these three fronts bring large benefits, distracted driving, including the use of mobile phones, is now a growing concern in many Countries.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Driving Simulation: An advanced technology that allows to evaluate the interactions between the driver, the vehicle and the road environment through an interdisciplinary approach.
Road Safety: Series of procedures, methods and measures for reducing the risk of a road user being killed or seriously injured.
Hand Held Mobile Phone: A mobile that has to be taken in the hand for being used.
Distracted Driving: Driving while doing another activity (including talking on a mobile phone or reading or sending texts or emails behind the wheel) that takes driver’s attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.
Crash Risk: A risk related to the occurrence of a road accident, usually measured as the product of the likelihood (probability) and magnitude (severity) of the event (road crash).
Hands Free Mobile Phone: The user can converse via loudspeakers using a common earphone (e.g. through Bluetooth technology) without touching the mobile phone.