Texting While Driving: Computerized Eye Tracking as a Method to Assess Visual Distraction During Driving Simulations

According to the National Traffic Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving claimed 3,308 lives in 2022. Few studies have used simulated driving experiences to directly assess the impact on gaze while driving with a cell phone distraction present. In this research, gaze was monitored...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican Journal of Management Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 42 - 51
Main Authors Litwiler, Scott, Hasley, Joseph P, Maldonado, Edgar, Segall, Mark, Garman, George
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published West Palm Beach North American Business Press 01.01.2025
Subjects
Accountability
Automobile drivers
Cellular telephones
Data collection
Data processing
Distracted driving
Eye movements
Questionnaires
Roads & highways
Simulation
Software
Text messaging
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Summary:According to the National Traffic Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving claimed 3,308 lives in 2022. Few studies have used simulated driving experiences to directly assess the impact on gaze while driving with a cell phone distraction present. In this research, gaze was monitored using a commercial eye tracker mounted to a laptop computer while subjects watched a 10-minute video of normal daytime driving. There was a consistent decrease in objects of interest being observed while text messages appeared. A negative but not statistically significant relationship between the amount of media use (based on responses from the questionnaire) and the amount of time that subjects viewed each text was found (p = 0.072). However, as overall risk for poor driving increased, gaze related to other vehicles decreased (p = 0.014). These results reveal that having a cellphone while driving likely impairs one's ability to notice potentially hazardous conditions on the road that could lead to the harm of the driver or others.
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ISSN:2165-7998