Zeitschrift für Ergonomie
Offener Zugang

Abstrakt

The Effects of Texting and DUI Simulation on Driving Performance in a Driving Simulator

Theresa J Palumbo, Doreen Head, Aaron Swift, Gordon Rumschlag, Jeremy Ing, Cindy Ngo, Matthew Surducan, Eric Lahoud, Brenna Johnson, Benjamin Mackie and Randall L Commissaris

Alcohol and texting each have serious effects on driving ability, leading to crashes and fatalities. The combined effects of alcohol intoxication and texting on driving behavior have not been well-studied. The present study utilized ‘Beer Goggles’ (BG) to test the hypothesis that the visual disturbances typically observed with ethanol intoxication potentiate the disruptive effects of texting on driving. Subjects were 18–26 years of age. While ‘driving’ on a straight roadway, subjects were engaged in brief text conversations. Subjects wore normal safety goggles and BG that simulated the visual disturbance associated with 0.07-0.1 % EtOH (legally drunk). The primary dependent variables were (1) the position of the car on the roadway and (2) eye glances on the phone-v-the roadway during texting. In all subjects, texting while driving was associated with a series of glances back and forth between the phone and the roadway, with slightly more than half this time spent looking at the phone and NOT at the roadway. Texting alone significantly impaired driving performance. BG alone did not negatively affect driving. BG significantly increased the disruptive effects of texting on driving performance and also increased (1) mean (and median) glance duration, (2) the average number of glances off the roadway per text conversation, (3) the duration of the Longest Glance Off the Roadway and finally (4) the Total duration of Eyes Off the Roadway. The present study confirms past reports that texting impairs driving performance. Moreover, the effects of texting on driving are dramatically worse when vision has been moderately impaired by BG. Given the high likelihood of texting while driving and after drinking, these data suggest that ‘No Texting While Driving’ education and public service messages need to be continued, and they should be expanded to focus on the negative interaction between texting, drinking and driving.