The main aim of this research consist on providing the different collectives and people, with public or private Road Safety responsibility, a document focusing distractions while driving as object of study and differential tool to mitigate the problem of road accidents.

This desk study covers the following aspects:

• What scientific research on driving distractions (research, types, results, causative factors, preventive factors) say,
• Definitions of other kinds of frontier factors related to distraction (tiredness and drowsiness);
• Identification of the different world and Spanish organisations and institutions that had developed actions in these areas;
• Problems in the investigation of causes (indiscriminate designation).
• Alert levels and distraction,
• Main effects of distractions and aggravating factors (deviation from the path of the vehicle with regard to its position within the lane, inappropriate speed with regard to the other cars, safe distances shorter than those required by law, loss of the notion of the car’s situation with regard to the rest of traffic and longer reaction times when facing an unexpected situation),
• Identification, categorisation of driving distractions prevention programmes according to their characteristics and aims,
• Description of the main programmes implemented globally according to their theoretical basis, scope, effectiveness, costs and benefits (in the cases where such information is available) that had been carried out.

The tasks performed by the members of the research team have been the proper to this kind of desk studies: bibliographic research, bibliometric analysis, selection of documents, content analysis, knowledge integration, inclusion of contributions and writing of the final report.

Publication

Research

Maria Aragay,Josep; Research Group METRAS

Fundació RACC de foment i defensa de l'automobilista