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Study: Drivers' Attention Easily Diverted

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even when they knew cameras were watching, drivers in a study were caught in all manner of distracting activities, from applying eye makeup to opening and reading their mail.

Almost all drivers are distracted at one time or another, concluded the study released Wednesday.

Thirty percent of the study subjects used cell phones while their vehicles were moving, but that was far from the most common distraction. Some 97 percent leaned over to reach for something, and 91 percent fiddled with radio controls.

Drivers were most likely to swerve when they were reaching, eating, using cell phones or tending to infants. Babies distracted drivers an average of 8.4 times per hour, compared with 1.1 times for adult passengers.

In all, the study found that drivers were distracted 16.1 percent of the time their vehicles were moving.

The study, released by AAA, the auto club, and researchers at the University of North Carolina, tracked 70 drivers from North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The drivers, age 18 to 80, were told that the cameras were measuring their reactions to traffic conditions.

The drivers had miniature cameras placed in their cars for a week, and researchers randomly selected three hours to view their behavior. The first three hours of each tape were eliminated in the hope that drivers would act more naturally later in the week.

Some said they drove more carefully because of the cameras, but others said they forgot they were there. One participant said the cameras "made me more conscious of cussing."

The study considered a wide range of behaviors to be distracting, including talking to passengers. Seventy-seven percent of drivers had conversations while driving.

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety President Peter Kissinger said the group doesn't expect drivers to give up conversations or stop snacking in their cars.

"We are encouraging drivers to pick the time and place to do those activities, and that is not when they are merging into traffic on a major interstate," he said.

Jim Champagne, a former Louisiana state trooper who heads that state's highway safety commission, said studies like this one are critical because researchers have no clear idea of the extent of the driver distraction problem. But he believes drivers who participated may have changed their behavior because of the cameras.

Ultimately, studying accident data will be the best way to understand the problem, Champagne said. In June, the federal government and the Governors Highway Safety Association asked states to start recording whether distraction played a role in accidents. Only 17 states now collect that data, AAA said.

"We never have taken seriously that we need to be 100 percent attentive to our driving," said Champagne, who is vice chairman of the GHSA.

AAA also suggested that states start including a section dedicated to the problem of distracted driving in driver education manuals. Manuals produced by only six states - Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia and Wisconsin - now have such sections.

Ten states warn that radio dials can be a distraction, while 19 warn against cell phone use while driving, AAA said. Thirty-one states have enacted or are considering laws to ban or restrict the use of cell phones while driving.

Champagne said the GHSA won't support a general ban on cell phone use unless there is more data to support it. But the group does support banning teen drivers from using cell phones, he said.

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On the Net:

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Governors Highway Safety Association

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