Title: Mobile communications, driver distraction and vehicle accidents

Authors: J. Murray, T. Ayres, C. Wood, D. Humphrey

Addresses: Pacific Consultants LLC, 1320 Villa Street, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. Exponent, 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. Exponent, 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. Ernst & Young LLP, 555 California Street, San Francisco, California, 94104, USA

Abstract: Research on the use of telephones by drivers has addressed both the physical and cognitive challenges presented during the driving task. We discuss some of the issues raised by this research, and note the importance of coordinating on-the-road studies with simulator experiments. We also examine the methodological problems associated with conducting analyses of data drawn from traffic accident reports. Several results from our recent study of these accident data are presented that help situate the issue of mobile telephones in the broader context of cognitive challenges while driving.

Keywords: mobile telephones; cellular telephones; human inattention; driver behaviour; accident data analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2001.001928

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2001 Vol.26 No.1, pp.70-84

Published online: 15 Aug 2003 *

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