Hazard perception performance and psychological factors of distracted drivers: what are the associations?

Distracted driving is a major contributor to crashes involving younger drivers. A considerable amount of evidence emphasizes the link between driver distraction, poorer driving performance and increased crash risk. However, limited research has examined the effects of mobile phone use on hazard perception performance, especially younger drivers. The focus of the current study was to determine the hazard perception decrements associated with performing a low-order secondary task with a mobile phone and to determine what psychological factors were associated with hazard perception performance decrements in younger drivers (aged 20-25 years).

In total, 74 participants (men: 40, women: 34) who had an open driver license and were, on average, aged 22.89 (SD = 1.83) completed two hazard perception sessions (control and dual task). The dual task condition entailed participants completing the hazard perception task while concurrently performing a low-order visual distraction task.

Clear decrements in hazard perception (longer reaction times and more missed hazards) were observed when performing the low-order secondary task when compared to completing the hazard perception test without the distraction task. In addition, higher levels of self-reported problematic mobile phone use and perceiving multitasking while driving as easy were associated with larger hazard perception performance decrements.

The findings suggest drivers misperceive their ability to divide their attention when driving and their actual hazard perception performance which likely facilitates distracted driving. The current study adds to the extant empirical studies emphasizing the link between driver distraction and poorer driving performance, in this case, decrements in hazard perception performance.