Understanding factors that make drivers more or less vulnerable to the distracting effects of competing activities is important when designing countermeasures to prevent and mitigate the effects of distraction. The potential for a competing activity to distract the driver and degrade safety is determined by the complex interaction of many factors. This chapter examines a number of these moderating factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic, forwhich there is some accumulated knowledge. These include drivers' willingness to engage in distracting activities, their ability to compensate for the increased demands imposed by a competing activity (self-regulation), driving task demands, driver characteristics, task familiarity, and driver state. Other moderating factors, such as exposure to, and the complexity of, distracting activity, are discussed in other chapters of this book.
Abstract