THE EFFECTS OF A MOBILE TELEPHONE TASK ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR IN A CAR FOLLOWING SITUATION

The effects of a mobile telephone task on young and elderly drivers' c hoice reaction time, headway, lateral position, and workload were stud ied when the subjects were driving in a car-following situation, in th e VTI driving simulator. It was found that a mobile telephone task had a negative effect upon the drivers' choice reaction time, and that th e effect was more pronounced for the elderly drivers. Furthermore, the subjects did not compensate for their increased reaction time by incr easing their headway during the phone task. The subjects' mental workl oad, as measured by the NASA-TLX, increased as a function of the mobil e telephone task. No effect on the subjects' lateral position could be detected. Taken together, these results indicate that the accident ri sk can increase when a driver is using the mobile telephone in a car f ollowing situation. The reasons for the increased risk, and possible w ays to eliminate it, are also discussed.