Citation

Parnell KJ, Stanton NA, Plant KL. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2017; 100: 1-14.

Affiliation

Transportation Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, Boldrewood Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 7QF, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2016.12.015

PMID

28081433

Abstract

Legislation in the road transport domain aims to control safety on the roads. Despite this, a critical issue affecting road safety is that of driver distraction. Although poorly defined, distraction is a significant road safety issue which, in part, is caused by the prevalence of technology within vehicles. Legislation surrounding the use of in-vehicle technologies are explored in this paper from a socio-technical system perspective. This reveals the wider context of the road transport system operating under the current laws using an Accimap analysis. A distinction in the law between the use of hand-held mobile phones, a device that is typically banned for use by drivers worldwide, and the use of other technological devices that are covered by more general laws against 'careless' and/or 'dangerous' driving was found. Historically, individual drivers' have been blamed for distraction, whereas the systems approach shows how current legislation may have created the conditions necessary for driver distraction.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Accimaps; Driver distraction; In-vehicle technology; Legislation; Systems theory