What can be done about distracted driving?

While evidence clearly shows that driver distraction is an important issue for road safety, no one knows for sure how risky it is, and among the many distractions, which pose the greatest risk, and under what circumstances.

To examine this problem, an October 2005 conference, co-organized by the Canadian Automobile Association and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, was held in Toronto. That conference identified a number of factors that make distracted driving difficult to manage:

• It arises from a broad range of events, objects and activities outside and inside the vehicle.
  
  
• It involves lifestyle issues, not just driving issues, including the almost natural propensity to attend to objects, events or activities that are new, novel or engaging. Being distracted is virtually a way of life.
  
  
• Driving time is increasingly viewed as unproductive so it is seen as an opportunity for accomplishing other tasks – to maintain seamless communications with the office and home, and sustain personal contact.
  
  
• Distractions occur at different levels and must be dealt with continually while driving. Attention is constantly divided among a variety of tasks or events, taxing the information processing capacities of drivers differentially and encroaching on their margin of safety. In this respect, distracted driving is far more difficult to influence than safety belt use, which requires only a single brief action when entering the vehicle.
  
  
• The rapid evolution of new products is outpacing traditional methods of ensuring the safety of vehicles and equipment through regulation. The consumer electronics industry is not accustomed to considering how its products affect driving; conversely, the motor vehicle safety and regulatory structure is not well equipped to interact with consumer electronics.

While there are many driver distractions that increase crash risk, cell phones and other telematics are at the cutting edge of the issue for the public, legislators, and governments.

The conference concluded that there is no single answer to the problem, and that effective strategies will need to address the interactions of the roadway environment, the vehicle, and the driver.

Delegates identified three essential keys to progress:

• Research and data: which distractions are most important, who is most at risk, when, where and why.
• Awareness and education.
• Cooperative government-industry efforts.

Source:
International Conference on Distracted Driving, Summary of Proceedings and Recommendations. Traffic Injury Research Foundation, April 2006 (PDF)

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