AnnuAl RepoRt - University of Alabama at Birmingham

First Wave of UAB UTC
Distracted Driving Research Complete
The UAB UTC’s first, distracted driving research project,
Distracted Driving in Teens With and Without ADHD-C,
has been successfully completed. Under the direction of
Dr. Despina Stavrinos, her UTC research team acquired
access to and use of a state-of-the-art driving simulator
existing in the laboratory of Dr. Karlene Ball, Professor
and Chair, UAB Department of Psychology.
The purpose of Dr. Stavrinos’ research was to compare
the driving performance of teens with a medical diagnosis
of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with
a control group of teen drivers not suffering from ADHD
in a variety of distraction conditions. Dr. Stavrinos’ work
also compared short-term changes in simulated driving
behavior of teens after a six-week computerized cognitive
training program. Distracted Driving in Teens With and
Without ADHD has significantly increased the understanding
of the extent to which technology is distracting for
teen drivers, and it facilitated an objective evaluation of
the usefulness of a cognitive intervention as a means to
develop safer driving behaviors among teens with ADHD.
The project’s preliminary results are intriguing. Most of
the study’s participants had been driving for less than two
years and reported being behind the wheel at least 5 days
per week. At fault motor vehicle crashes were reported by
nearly 20% of the participants. None admitted to cell phone
use at the time of the crash. The participants with ADHD
had more traffic tickets than the group without ADHD.
Many teens stated they talked on the phone and engaged
in texting while driving about 3 days per week. Interestingly,
one-third of the participants said they did not talk
on the phone while driving and nearly half reported that
they never text while driving. Of those teens who reported
talking on the phone and texting while driving,
approximately 20% reported doing so every day.
Many teens reported that they modify their driving behavior
when engaging in distracted driving. Over half of the
participants reported that they put the caller on speaker
phone, adjust their driving speed (faster or slower), and
search for the phone without taking their eyes off the road.
Student texting while driving in the state-of-the-art driving simulator
Another form of driving modification while driving distracted
that teens reported was using only one hand to steer
the wheel; a behavior reported by over half of participants.
Nearly 50% of the teens reported pulling over and stopping
to engage in distracting activities.
The research team is considering the provisional conclusion
that parents of teens may not be setting a good example for
their young drivers. For example, approximately 50% of
parents admitted to talking on the phone while driving at
least 5 days each week. Interestingly, about one-third of
the parents of teens with ADHD reported engaging in the
most dangerous form of distracted driving, texting, which
occurred more frequently than parents of non-ADHD teens.
The present study suggests that most teens frequently
engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors, including
talking on a cell phone and texting while driving. The study
is among the first to investigate the potential influence of
parental distracted driving on the driving behaviors of their
teens. These preliminary results suggest that parents may
be a significant source of influence on their teens’ distracted
driving behavior. Thus, interventions aimed at reducing
distracted driving behaviors in teens might also consider
including a component targeting parental distracted driving;
particularly for teens with ADHD.
While engaging in distracted driving was more common
than not in teens in this study, it is promising that nearly a
third of teens did not engage in any form of distracted
driving. Future studies should investigate what factors
might influence some teens from refraining in distracted
driving. This knowledge could be applied to interventions
targeted at those who frequently engage in distracted driving.
A final report will be available at the end of September on
the UAB UTC website www.uab.edu/utc.
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