Effects of Mobile Phone Use on Driving Performance: An Experimental Study of Workload and Traffic Violations

Carlos A. Catalina Ortega, Miguel A. Mariscal, Wafa Boulagouas, Sixto Herrera, Juan M. Espinosa and Susana García-Herrero
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Carlos A. Catalina Ortega: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Miguel A. Mariscal: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Wafa Boulagouas: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Sixto Herrera: Departamento de Matemática Aplicada y Ciencias de la Computación, ETS de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
Juan M. Espinosa: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Susana García-Herrero: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-22

Abstract: The use of communication technologies, e.g., mobile phones, has increased dramatically in recent years, and their use among drivers has become a great risk to traffic safety. The present study assessed the workload and road ordinary violations, utilizing driving data collected from 39 young participants who underwent a dual-task while driving a simulator, i.e., respond to a call, text on WhatsApp, and check Instagram. Findings confirmed that there are significant differences in the driving performance of young drivers in terms of vehicle control (i.e., lateral distance and hard shoulder line violations) between distracted and non-distracted drivers. Furthermore, the overall workload score of young drivers increases with the use of their mobile phones while driving. The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of the driving performance of distracted young drivers and thus they could be useful for further improvements to traffic safety strategies.

Keywords: mobile; phone; distractions; traffic; violations; workload; young; drivers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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