October 23, 2006
Cell phones, fast food, complex music systems and talkative passengers already provide plenty of distractions for todays drivers, but a Central Michigan University professor says most vehicle dashboard designs add to the problem.
Prof. Richard Backs says he can help automakers develop better technology which would minimize driver attention failures and design dashboard devices that require less attention to operate.
Unlike most scientists who focus strictly on performance while researching driver safety, Backs and his students at CMU are using brain wave patterns and heart activity to study drivers' attention while behind the wheel. This series of psycho-physiological tests of driver responses are being conducted using a desktop driver simulator provided by General Motors.
"We are simulating how people use their attention while driving to better understand distractions such as navigation systems, cell phones and other portable wireless devices," Backs said.
"In normal situations, our driving performance is not affected by these distractions. We may think that we are driving safely, but physiological measures show how our attention is actually focused on these other devices. Through our research, we hope to learn how to minimize distractions from these types of devices."
A key focus of Backs' research is on how driver attention changes as people age, focusing on adults 65 years of age and older.
He also plans to expand his research to focus on adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other diagnosed attention disorders, to learn how these disorders affect their attention while driving and help to develop remediation for them.
"There are so many things that we can do with this research," Backs said. "Not only do we want to understand how we use our attention as we drive, we also want to develop programs to educate people on how to better distribute their attention while driving."
