Mobile communications, driver distraction and vehicle accidents

Research on the use of telephones by drivers has addressed both the physica l and cognitive challenges presented during the driving task. We discuss so me of the issues raised by this research, and note the importance of coordi nating on-the-road studies with simulator experiments. We also examine the methodological problems associated with conducting analyses of data drawn f rom traffic accident reports. Several results from our recent study of thes e accident data are presented that help situate the issue of mobile telepho nes in the broader context of cognitive challenges while driving.