Effects of In-Vehicle Distracter Complexity on Driving and Emergency Response Performance.

摘要

The purpose of the two experiments presented here was to perform preliminary tests to determine if varying levels of distracter complexity differentially influence driver behavior. A second purpose was to determine the influence of varying levels of distracter complexity on drivers ability to react to an emergency event. Results of the studies indicate that driver performance was degraded with the introduction of a distracter and when the distracter is presented through a visual information delivery mode driver performance was degraded differentially with differing levels of distracter complexity. Results also indicate that when drivers are presented with an emergency response scenario their primary reaction is to brake. However, the number of participants who braked increased with the inclusion of a distracter and was differentially influenced by the level of complexity of the distracter. These results lend support to the contention that driver performance is negatively influenced by the inclusion of and increasing levels of complexity of a distraction and that this may be due to increasing amount of attentional resources that are captured with the introduction of a distracter.