Distracted driving
Distracted driving is a major contributor to road crashes. Research has shown that, distraction is the main contributing factor in about 16% of Australia’s serious casualty road crashes. This suggests that distracted driving is as serious problem on Australian roads as drink driving.
Distracted driving involves driving while engaging in other activities that draw the driver’s attention away from the road.
It impairs reaction time (including braking and swerving) and diminishes ability to maintain speed and lane position. It also reduces awareness of other road users, traffic light changes, and changes in traffic flow, including vehicles in front of you reducing their speed.
Distracted driving has always been a problem, but many experts believe it has become more prevalent with the growing use of smart phones and of complex in-vehicle control systems, including touchscreens.
The AAA Road Safety Research Program is funding research to help better understand the causes and scope of the problem, and to identify solutions.
Distracted driving research literature review
To support its research projects, the RSRP commissioned a review of existing distracted driving literature and policy.
This review considered human behaviour; policy and regulation; technology; and legal, enforcement and compliance frameworks.
It compared and assessed the efficacy of distracted driving legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks in Australian jurisdictions and some comparable countries.
It also evaluated recent Australian distracted driving countermeasuresand produced a list of key researchers and research organisations working in distracted driving in Australia and some other comparable countries.
