Distracted Driving in Teens with and without ADHD

Stavrinos, Despina · 2010 · ROSA P / University Transportation Center for Alabama

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Summary

This study investigates how cell phone conversations and text messaging affect the driving performance of novice teenage drivers, specifically comparing those with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – Combined Type (ADHD-C) to typically developing controls. Additionally, the research evaluates whether a computerized cognitive intervention improves driving outcomes for these groups. The study was motivated by the high mortality rate of motor vehicle collisions among teenagers and the potential exacerbation of risk due to distraction and ADHD-related executive functioning deficits. The researchers conducted a prospective intervention study involving 43 participants: 22 teens with ADHD-C and 21 matched controls, averaging 17 years of age. Participants used a virtual driving simulator (STISIM Drive) to navigate standardized scenarios under three randomized conditions: no distraction, cell phone conversation, and text messaging. Performance was measured by lane deviation, reaction time, average speed, and total collisions. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to complete a nine-hour cognitive training program (RoadTour™) over six weeks, designed to improve speed-of-processing and visual attention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance to assess the effects of distraction and the intervention. Results indicated that distraction negatively impacted driving performance regardless of ADHD status, contradicting the hypothesis that teens with ADHD would be disproportionately affected. Text messaging significantly increased reaction times and lane deviations compared to both the no-distraction and cell phone conditions. Cell phone use significantly increased the number of motor vehicle collisions compared to the no-distraction condition, though it did not significantly affect reaction time or lane deviations. Regarding the intervention, the cognitive training improved driving performance for both groups, but the specific benefits varied by diagnosis. Teens without ADHD showed significant reductions in lane deviations during texting and crashes during undistracted driving. Conversely, teens with ADHD showed significant reductions in crashes specifically during the text messaging condition. The intervention did not significantly affect average speed or reaction time for either group. The findings suggest that distracted driving impairs all novice drivers, not just those with attention deficits, with text messaging posing specific risks to reaction time and lane control, while phone conversations increase collision risk. The study provides preliminary evidence that speed-of-processing cognitive training can mitigate some of these risks, though the pattern of improvement differs between teens with and without ADHD. The authors conclude that while the simulator environment allows for safe data collection, future studies with larger samples and naturalistic driving conditions are needed to generalize these findings and further validate the efficacy of cognitive interventions for teen drivers.

Key finding

Distraction significantly increased reaction times, lane deviations, and motor vehicle collisions in novice teen drivers regardless of ADHD status, with text messaging causing greater lane deviations than phone conversations.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 43

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• cognitive
• mobile phones
• distraction detection algorithms
• external distraction
• visual manual
• visual

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, behavioral performance data
• Theoretical Contribution: computational model