TTI is responsible for one of the nation’s most extensive texting-while-driving studies – one that demonstrated how texting behind the wheel doubles a driver’s reaction time.

The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) has contracted with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to conduct an extensive study on the use of cell phones by Texas drivers, and distracted driving in general. The effort is the first involving TTI and USAA, one of the nation’s most respected insurance companies offering insurance protection and financial services to the U.S. military and their families for more than 90 years.

A survey of roughly 3,000 people will be conducted in driver’s license stations operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety in several regions around the state. The sample size will allow researchers to examine which demographic groups are most affected by the distracted driving issue and what their attitudes and self-reported behaviors are, according to TTI Senior Research Scientist Katie Womack, who will lead the study.

“Focus groups will also be conducted to explain in greater detail the thought processes and behavior motivations underlying texting, cell phone use, and other distractions while driving,” Womack says. “The two approaches combined will lead to recommendations for consideration of the most appropriate intervention and/or education strategies.”

USAA visited TTI in 2012 for a discussion that focused on USAA’s interests in current and emerging roadway safety issues, along with a review of TTI’s capabilities and current research activities. TTI is responsible for one of the nation’s most extensive texting-while-driving studies – one that demonstrated how texting behind the wheel doubles a driver’s reaction time.

USAA, a longtime advocate for safe driving, hosted Distracted Driving Summits last year in Texas and Florida, in conjunction with each state’s Department of Transportation, Shriners Hospitals and the Distraction Advocate Network. The objective was to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and compel people to personally change their driving behaviors; you can watch highlights on YouTube (keyword: Florida Distracted Driving Summit, presented by USAA).

“USAA is clearly focused on some of the most pressing roadway safety problems that our society now faces, and TTI is focused on pursuing solutions to those problems,” says TTI Director Dennis Christiansen. “We’re confident that together we’re going to make a very strong and effective team.”

“We are committed to promoting vehicle and driver safety for the protection of our military members and their families,” says USAA Executive Director Joel Camarano. “USAA is excited to form this relationship with TTI, a leader in roadway safety research for over 60 years.”

On his blog, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “North Dakota roads will be safer for everyone as a result, and I can’t think of a more fitting outcome for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.”

In Texas, texting while driving is banned for drivers who are under the age of 18. The law went into effect September 1, 2009.

Read more about the ban on Ray LaHood’s blog.

Making cars safer with advanced warning systems has the potential for causing other safety concerns for drivers. That dilemma is the basis for a new contract awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to TTI and other team members.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is supporting efforts for automobile manufacturers and their suppliers to develop communications systems that allow vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and to the roadside,” says Human Factors Program Manager Sue Chrysler. “These systems offer great potential for enhanced safety systems that are currently only available through expensive onboard sensors. But do those warnings, and the alarms and flashing lights that come with them, cause drivers to be distracted?”

TTI’s role in the NHTSA project, entitled Human Factors for Connected Vehicles, is to help develop a set of tests to measure the distraction potential of the individual warning systems. Human Factors Program Researchers Joel Cooper and Christine Yager are both major contributors to the project. The team is working to minimize the distraction potential of the system, not only for safety, but for mobility and sustainability applications as well.

Their initial work will focus on developing metrics to quantify the degrees of distraction potential of the Connected Vehicle System in terms of their effect on driving performance. Certain display configurations, for instance, are expected to have more distraction potential than others. Similarly, auditory warnings may in some cases be preferable to visual dashboard warning lights. The researchers have already developed some Connected Vehicle-like tasks that will be part of the evaluations done in a driving simulator and also in a real-world environment on TTI’s test track facility. The research will be the first to examine and measure an overall advance warning system, rather than examining individual subsystems.

Connected Vehicles technology will have a range of more than 300 meters, so it will be feasible to make far more information available to drivers than currently possible. The challenge lies in how to do so without distracting those drivers.

Other research team members include the University of Iowa, consultant Linda Angell, and the human factors arm of WESTAT, which is leading the nine-month project. The human factors track for the Connected Vehicles program extends over the next five years, and this project is one of the first tasks in that program.

The Teens in the Driver Seat program officially joined the Center for Transportation Safety on Sept. 1, 2010.

Distracted driving

A specialist in distracted driving issues has joined the CTS staff, supporting a broader effort to build knowledge in a rapidly growing area of national interest and concern. Joel Cooper earned his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Utah, where he studied with Dr. David Strayer, one of the world’s foremost experts in the area.

While a student, he led projects investigating the impact of cell phone use on driving, the role of driver distraction in the breakdown of highway traffic flow, the impact of text messaging on driving performance, and other related projects. His experience also includes the study of visual attention, decision making, and multi-tasking capabilities.

Cooper joins the Human Factors Group at CTS led by Program Manager Sue Chrysler, and will serve as an expert on general human performance issues relating to attention, multi-tasking, expertise, distraction, and the role of practice in performance.

The subject of distracted driving has generated more interest and more headlines than any other traffic safety issue in recent years. Not since the intense focus on drunk driving began in the 1980s has a roadway safety issue drawn so much attention. Many safety experts consider that comparison an appropriate one, viewing activities like texting while driving as “the new DWI.”

Teen driver safety

One of the nation’s most successful teen driving safety initiatives is now part of the Center for Transportation Safety. Teens in the Driver Seat® officially joined the CTS on September 1.

TDS Program staff members bring with them extensive knowledge of teen driver risk awareness and driving behavior to help address an urgent public health issue for young people. Worldwide, car crashes kill more teenagers than any other cause.

TDS is distinct from other teen safety initiatives in two ways. Typical safety program tend to focus on only one issue, such as seat belts or alcohol, often overlooking more common risk factors, but TDS focuses on all five of the factors unique to teen drivers – nighttime driving, distractions and speeding – in addition to alcohol and seat belt use. Also, TDS involves teens directly in both the development and delivery of safety messages. Since TDS began, the teen driver fatal crash rate in Texas has declined faster and more steadily than in any other state, dropping for five consecutive years. The program has earned national awards from several organizations, including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Roadway Safety Foundation, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

“By supporting the laws in Texas at a grassroots level, TDS has helped to reduce the number of crashes involving young drivers for several years running,” TDS Director Russell Henk said. “Having the TDS staff join us will only strengthen our collective ability to better understand and combat this persistent roadway safety problem.”

TDS is active in more than 350 schools in Texas, with others active in Connecticut, Georgia, California and North Carolina. Discussions are also in the works to launch the program in Australia. The program is sponsored primarily by TxDOT and State Farm Insurance. In addition, AT&T recently became the newest corporate sponsor for TDS.