Distracted Driving

What driver distraction is

Driver distraction is a diversion of attention away from the activities needed for safe driving toward a competing activity. Researchers commonly describe three overlapping forms: visual distraction (eyes off the road), manual distraction (hands off the wheel) and cognitive distraction (mind off the driving task). A single activity can involve more than one.

Reading or writing a text message on a cell phone, dictating a message with voice-to-text, programming a navigation screen and interacting with other in-vehicle technology are all activities that driving research has examined. Each places a different mix of demands on the driver.

How it bears on driving

Driving depends on noticing changes in the road ahead and responding to them. When attention is shared with another task, a driver may take longer to notice a hazard, may miss it, or may respond in a less controlled way.

Hands-free and voice-based tools remove some demands but not necessarily all of them. Research on voice-to-text has examined whether speaking to a mobile device still draws attention away from the road. Whether distraction played a part in a particular crash, and how much it mattered, depends on when the activity took place relative to the hazard and on what the hazard was.

Questions a distracted driving expert witness can address

• Was the driver's attention on the road in the moments that mattered?
• Did a cell phone or other in-vehicle task affect when the driver noticed and responded to the hazard?
• Would an attentive driver in the same position have had time to avoid the crash?

This article is general information, not legal advice or an expert opinion on any matter. See the disclaimer.