Driven to distraction

Abstract

Mobile phone use is one of the most frequent causes of distraction among drivers. While there have been a significant number of studies that have examined individuals’ intentions to use a mobile phone while driving, the influence of individuals’ in-situ judgement of driving conditions has received considerably less attention. The aim of this investigation was to provide a systematic understanding of how factors associated with the driving context and environment influence a driver's decision to engage in mobile phone use while driving. Following a systematic classification scheme, 41 research articles from the years 2011 to 2020 were reviewed and synthesised to identify the contextual determinants of mobile phone distraction. Overall, the findings provided support for the role that contextual features play in influencing individuals’ mobile phone use engagement. This finding was particularly the case in instances where mobile phone tasks required relatively high cognitive and physical demands on an individual, such as texting and/or reading mails. The findings also indicated that as contextual complexity increases, mobile phone use decreases as well. A deeper understanding of the relationship between contextual factors and phone use while driving may aid in the design of more efficient driver support systems and the development of distraction-sensitive road design guides. This understanding can also assist in the identification of mobile phone use hotspots and the improvement of law enforcement and educational strategies to prevent the behaviour.