Citation

Rupp MA, Gentzler MD, Smither JA. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2016; 97: 220-230.

Affiliation

University of Central Florida, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2016.09.003

PMID

27661403

Abstract

Driving while distracted is a critical and unwavering problem in the United States leading to numerous injuries and fatalities each year. While increasing legislation and developing technological interventions strive to ensure we only focus on driving, individuals still drive distracted. We surveyed college-aged adults to examine the factors that influence both their risk perception of driving while distracted and how often they engage in distracting activities and situations while driving. We found a disassociation between individuals' perception of driving distraction risk and their engagement with the distraction. Exposure, perceived knowledge of risks, fairness beliefs, and ratings of perceived visual and cognitive demands was associated with risk perception. Conversely, risk-seeking traits, how voluntary the task was perceived, and previous exposure to a distraction influenced engagement. Overall, we recommend additional research focusing on factors that predict engagement in driver distraction rather than perceived risk alone.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en