The effect of cellphone position on driving and gaze behaviour

Legislation frequently restricts the use of cellphones while driving. Despite this, many people continue to interact with cellphones covertly while driving, typically by concealing their device in their lap. This strategy leads to frequent diversion of the drivers’ gaze from the road ahead, potentia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2021-04, Vol.11 (1), p.7692-7692, Article 7692
Main Authors: Turnbull, Philip R. K., Khanal, Safal, Dakin, Steven C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/378/2617
631/477/2811
Cellular telephones
Computer applications
Driving ability
Humanities and Social Sciences
Legislation
multidisciplinary
Roads
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Legislation frequently restricts the use of cellphones while driving. Despite this, many people continue to interact with cellphones covertly while driving, typically by concealing their device in their lap. This strategy leads to frequent diversion of the drivers’ gaze from the road ahead, potentially reducing their driving performance. To evaluate the influence of cellphone use on driving, 30 participants took part in three randomly ordered 7-min virtual reality driving simulations. In each condition, drivers were presented with either (a) no cellphone, (b) a cellphone fixed to the windscreen, or (c) a cellphone positioned at lap level. Their task was to maintain road position and observe speed limits while answering maths problems (delivered intermittently via ‘text message’) and searching for external target objects. Outcome measures included speed, lane position standard deviation (LPSD), and fixation behaviour, which were compared between trials. In trials where a cellphone was present, participants shifted fixation more frequently, drove approximately 6 km/h faster, exhibited a lower LPSD and spent more time in the correct lane on the road (compared to the no-cellphone condition; all p  
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-87120-2