| Key Findings
• Driver engagement in secondary tasks is frequent;
• Drivers engage in a secondary task every 96 seconds, on average;
• It is not unusual for drivers to engage in multiple tasks at once;
• Drivers were significantly more likely to initiate a secondary task when stationary;
• Only 5.9% of the secondary tasks events were associated with a driving incident.
Abstract
Using data from the Australian Naturalistic Driving Study (ANDS), this study examined patterns of secondary task engagement (e.g., mobile phone use, manipulating centre stack controls) during everyday driving trips to determine the type and duration of secondary task engaged in. Safety related incidents associated with secondary task engagement were also examined. Results revealed that driver engagement in secondary tasks was frequent, with drivers engaging in one or more secondary tasks every 96 seconds, on average. However, drivers were more likely to initiate engagement in secondary tasks when the vehicle was stationary, suggesting that drivers do self-regulate the timing of task engagement to a certain degree. There was also evidence that drivers modified their engagement in a way suggestive of limiting their exposure to risk by engaging in some secondary tasks for shorter periods when the vehicle was moving compared to when it was stationary.
Despite this, almost six percent of secondary tasks events were associated with a safety-related incident. The findings will be useful in targeting distraction countermeasures and policies and determining the effectiveness of these in managing driver distraction. | 