Citation

Calvo JA, Baldwin C, Philips B. J. Saf. Res. 2020; 73: 297-302.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsr.2020.03.011

PMID

32563405

Abstract

PROBLEM: Automobile crashes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States, especially for younger and older drivers. Additionally, distracted driving is another leading factor in the likelihood of crashes. However, there is little understanding about the interaction between age and secondary task engagement and how that impacts crash likelihood and maneuver safety.

METHOD: Data from the Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS), which was part of the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), were used to investigate this issue.

RESULTS: It was found that the distribution of crashes per one million km driven during the NDS was similar to previous research, but with fewer crashes from older drivers. Additionally, it was found that older and middle-aged drivers engaged in distracted driving more frequently than was expected, and that crashes were significantly more likely if drivers of those age groups were engaged in secondary tasks. However, secondary task engagement did not predict judgment of safe/unsafe vehicle maneuvers.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: More research is needed to better understand the interaction of age and distraction on crash likelihood. However, this research could aid future researchers in understanding the likelihood of future use of new in-vehicle technologies for different age groups, as well as provide insight to the engagement patterns of distraction for different age groups.

Language: en

Keywords

Naturalistic driving; Aging and driving; Distracted driving; SHRP2