P10 How cell phone use affects reaction time of older drivers

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough older drivers are involved in a few accidents in terms of absolute numbers, they represent one of the highest risk categories for accidents involving fatalities and serious injuries per number of drivers and per distance travelled. Furthermore, cell phone use is estimated to be an important cause of vehicle accidents. Even if cell phone use can be considered as part of everyday the increased use of cell phones from drivers of all age groups while driving makes the investigation of their influence on driving behaviour and on road safety very essential. MethodsDriving simulators have become a widely used tool for examining the impact of driver distraction and more specifically cell phone use, as examining distraction causes and impacts in a controlled environment helps provide insights into situations that are difficult to measure such as the reaction time of drivers.The objective of this research is the analysis of the reaction time of older drivers while talking on the cell phone. For this purpose, a large driving simulator experiment is carried out, in which 90 drivers from three different age groups (young, middle aged and older) were asked to drive under different types of distraction (no distraction, conversation with passenger, cell phone use) in rural and urban road environment, in low and high traffic. In addition, two unexpected events are set in each driving scenario, where the reaction time of each driver is recorded.To achieve the research objectives, a descriptive analysis took place through box plots, followed by a generalized linear mixed model, which was developed in order to estimate the effect of cell phone use in the reaction time at unexpected incidents. ResultsResults indicate that on the cell phone, while driving, leads to increased reaction time for all drivers and especially regarding female drivers, especially in rural areas. Furthermore, regarding age groups, older drivers talking on the cell phone achieved almost double reaction time than being undistracted, while urban area as well as high traffic increases the reaction time of older drivers significantly. ConclusionsResearch on older drivers is essential for policy makers, professionals involved in testing and rehabilitating older drivers, and those involved in designing and evaluating new driving environments and in-vehicle technologies. Results clearly suggest that mobile phone use while driving has a potential negative impact on road safety and leads to increased accident risk especially on older drivers.