“We are not going to turn back time and stop people behaving this way (using cell phones while driving) so instead we should look at how we can use technology to make mobile-phone technology safer while on the road.”
This is the opinion of Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios author of a ground-breaking review that looks at how to make phone use by drivers safer.
His Queensland University of Technology (QUT) review looks at the issue of mobile phone use by drivers as a task-sharing problem.
Previous studies have attempted to measure system outcomes or driving performances independently but that this is the first to consider how the actual interaction with mobile phones affects driver performance from a systems perspective.
“People who use their mobile phones while driving tend to slow down but they don’t necessarily see pedestrians, often swerve out of their lane and are less in control of their steering and brake pedals.
He points out that research into the interaction between drivers and mobile phones could provide input for countermeasures to regulate usage and achieve safe driving-mobile phone integration.
He further points out that if a driver is using their phone in an unsafe situation based on traffic complexity, an alert could be given, either through the phone or the vehicle – perhaps like an alarm noise or screen blackout – as a prompt for them to get their full attention back on the road. “We could also develop phone software able to select how tasks must be performed while driving to ensure safety is maintained,” he says.
“There is so much focus on driverless vehicles and safety features like automated braking or reverse parking that will have safety benefits in the medium or long term. Yet the intensive promotion of automation could cause policy-makers and vehicle manufacturers to overlook the dangers posed by mobile phone distraction today.”
He concedes that sometimes it will be critical for people to be able to use their phones but attention has to be given as how to make it safer, which is a completely new approach to the distracted driving problem.
He has just published the results of his PhD research – ‘Understanding the impacts of mobile phone distraction on driving performance: a systematic review’ – in international journal Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies.
His review analysed an extensive body of research on mobile phone distraction on driving performance from 2005-2015.
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