A rear-end collision risk assessment model based on drivers’ collision avoidance process under influences of cell phone use and gender—A driving simulator based study

Li, Xiaomeng; Yan, Xuedong; Wu, Jiawei; Radwan, Essam; Zhang, Yuting · 2016 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2016.08.021

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Summary

This study investigates how cell phone use and driver gender influence rear-end collision risk by analyzing the dynamic collision avoidance process. Motivated by the high prevalence of rear-end crashes and the significant safety risks associated with distracted driving, the research aims to quantify how these factors affect braking performance and collision outcomes. The authors address a gap in existing literature, which often focuses on static crash statistics rather than the real-time behavioral mechanisms drivers employ to avoid collisions. The researchers conducted a driving simulator experiment with 42 licensed drivers (21 male, 21 female, aged 30–40). Participants drove in a car-following scenario on a simulated urban road, encountering a leading vehicle that performed a sudden, sharp deceleration. The experiment tested three conditions: no phone use, hands-free phone use, and hand-held phone use. The phone tasks involved arithmetic calculations to induce cognitive load. Data were collected at 60Hz to capture detailed braking maneuvers. Based on this data, the authors developed a rear-end collision risk assessment model that divides the avoidance process into three stages: brake response, deceleration adjustment, and maximum deceleration. The model uses minimum headway distance as the primary output variable to assess collision risk. The results demonstrated that both cell phone use and gender significantly impacted braking performance, including brake reaction time, deceleration adjusting time, and maximum deceleration rate. Drivers using cell phones exhibited higher collision risks compared to those not using phones, despite engaging in some compensatory behaviors to reduce mental workload. Crucially, the study found that hands-free phone use impaired driving performance to the same extent as hand-held use, indicating that the safety hazard stems primarily from cognitive distraction rather than manual interference. Regarding gender, female drivers had longer brake reaction times than males but compensated by applying larger maximum deceleration rates and maintaining larger safety margins with the leading vehicle. The significance of this study lies in its detailed modeling of the collision avoidance process, providing evidence that hands-free devices do not mitigate the safety risks of cell phone use while driving. The findings suggest that interventions and advanced collision avoidance technologies must account for cognitive degradation caused by phone use. Additionally, the identified gender differences in braking strategies highlight the need for targeted safety programs that consider distinct behavioral responses in critical driving situations.

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Topics

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• mobile phones
• sex gender

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, behavioral performance data, crash risk outcomes