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The physics and psychology of teen road safety 

iSTOCK 

Driven to 

distraction 

Understanding the impact

About the guide 

Teacher’s 

Introduction to the guide 

RiAus PDplus Teachers Notes are an initiative of RiAus designed to assist high 

school teachers (Years 10–12) to engage and involve their students. 

The notes supplement a PDplus presentation hosted by RiAus and the Motor 

Accident Commission (MAC) on the physics and psychology behind teen 

driver distraction, which will allow teachers to hear from and put questions to 

scientists and psychologists about their research and careers. 

See the RiAus website for further details and footage: riaus.org.au/pdplus 

OTHER RIAUS PDPLUS TEACHER NOTES 

The Science and Myths of Low Level Speeding, Food Security, Synthetic 

Biology, The Square Kilometre Array, The World Solar Challenge, Regenerative 

Medicine, Wind Technology. These PDplus Teachers Notes are available on the 

RiAus website: riaus.org.au/pdplus 

Created by Sally Parker 

Editor Heather Catchpole 

Designer Lucy Glover 

Sub-editor Karen McGhee 

Copyfit Carolyn Parfitt 

Publisher Karen Taylor 

r eso u r c e 

The RiAus PDplus Study Guide is produced 

by Refraction Media for RiAus (the Royal 

Institution of Australia) 

This resource is made possible thanks 

to support from: 

How to use the guide 

The notes in this study guide offer both variety and flexibility of use for the 

differentiated classroom. You and your students can choose to use all or any of 

the five sections – although it is recommended to use them in sequence, along 

with all or a few of the activities within each section. 

The ‘FIVE Es’ Model 

© 2013 Refraction Media Pty Ltd, all rights 

reserved. No part of this publication may 

be reproduced in any manner or form for 

commercial purposes or outside of an 

educational setting. This guide was first 

published on 18 June 2013. 

This guide employs the ‘Five Es’ 

instructional model designed by 

Biological Sciences Curriculum 

Study, an educational research group 

in Colorado. It has been found to 

be extremely effective in engaging 

students in learning science and 

technology. It follows a constructivist 

or inquiry-based approach to learning, 

in which students build new ideas 

on top of the information they have 

acquired through previous experience. 

Its components are: 

Engage Students are asked to make 

connections between past and present 

learning experiences and become fully 

engaged in the topic to be learned. 

Explore Students actively explore the 

concept or topic being taught. It is an 

informal process where the students 

should have fun manipulating ideas 

or equipment and discovering things 

about the topic. 

Explain This is a more formal 

phase where the theory behind the 

concept is taught. Terms are defined 

and explanations are given about the 

models and theories. 

Elaborate Students have the 

opportunity to develop a deeper 

understanding of sections of the topic. 

Evaluate Both the teacher and the 

students evaluate what they have 

learned in each section. 

Useful Websites 

Motor Accident Commission http://www.mac.sa.gov.au/ 

The University of Adelaide Centre for 

Automotive Safety Research http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/ 

Monash University Injury Research Institute 

http://www.monash.edu.au/miri/research/research-areas/ 

transport-safety/ 

Mobile phone use: Roads and Transport NSW 

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/driverdistractions/index.html 

WA Office of Road Safety: Distraction and mobile phones 

http://www.ors.wa.gov.au/Demographic-Pages/ 

I-am-Working-in-Road-Safety/Distractions.aspx 

Mobile phone use and distraction while driving fact 

sheet (Qld police) bit.ly/115Zu1F 

In-car distractions and their impact on driving activities 

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/ 

publications/2010/incar_distractions_att_10.aspx 

Fatal impact – the physics of speeding cars 

http://www.science.org.au/nova/058/058key.html 

Towards Zero Together (SA Government Road Safety 

site) http://dpti.sa.gov.au/towardszerotogether 

RiAus PD plus: Driven to distraction riaus.org.au/pdplus www.mac.sa.gov.au 2

Backgrounder 

Mobiles, driving and distraction 

Driving while distracted is an increasing concern for road safety. So why do we 

find it so hard to keep our focus on the road? 

123RF 

Effects of distracted driving 

“DETERMINING THE PROPORTION of crashes that result from distraction is difficult. 

But [according to] a number of estimates, it could be as high as 20-30%,” says 

Matthew Baldock, a research fellow at the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at 

the University of Adelaide. 

A 2011 World Health Organisation (WHO) assessment of the risks of mobile 

phone use while driving noted that distraction caused by these devices can impair 

performance in different ways. These included longer reaction times (notably braking 

reaction time, but also reaction to 

traffic signals), impaired ability to 

keep in the correct lane, shorter 

following distances, and an 

overall reduction in awareness of 

the driving situation. 

The WHO investigation, Mobile 

phone use: a growing problem 

of driver distraction, found that 

drivers using phones were four 

times more likely to be involved 

in a crash. The same investigation 

observed that, in Australia, 

self-reported driver distraction 

was found to be a contributing 

factor in 14% of crashes. It also 

highlighted that 58% of drivers 

here aged 17-29 years regularly 

read messages and 37% sent 

messages while driving. 

Psychology and social behaviours 

Today, mobile phones are everywhere. In 2011, a Federal Government study found 

that more than 90% of active Australian drivers owned one. Now, with the advent 

of smartphones that can be used to easily access the Internet and a range of social 

networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the temptation to use phones while 

driving is much greater than it has ever been. 

The social motivations for keeping a mobile phone 

at hand while driving vary for different demographic 

groups. Younger drivers want to keep up with the 

latest posts or texts from their social groups. Adults 

want to be available in case of an emergency. 

According to Shari Walsh, a psychologist who has 

researched people’s relationships with their mobile 

phones, our constant checking and rechecking of 

social networks is due to our innate need to belong to 

a community. “The addiction to our smartphones has 

come about because people can more readily check up on 

what other people are doing,” she says. She also found that 

for some drivers, using their mobile phone made them feel like 

they were making better use of time spent driving. 

123RF 

Distraction facts 

and stats 

The facts behind driver 

distraction and our increasing 

use of mobile phones while 

on the road are sobering. 

n A 2011 Federal Government 

survey found that 93% of Australian 

drivers owned a mobile phone and 

that 59% of these reported using 

their mobile phone while driving. 

n Driver distraction was 

a contributing factor in 14% of 

Australian crashes, according 

to a study looking at the role of 

self-reported driver distraction in 

serious road crashes that required 

victims to be hospitalised. 

n In New Zealand, 

research suggests 

that distraction 

contributes to at 

least 10% of fatal 

crashes and 9% 

of injury crashes. 

Young people are 

particularly likely 

to be involved in 

crashes relating to 

driver distraction. 

n In 2011, 3,331 

people were killed 

in crashes involving 

a distracted driver 

in the United States, 

compared to 3,267 

in 2010. 

123RF 

n Australian research suggests that 

one in six drivers regularly send text 

messages while driving. 

n Sending or receiving a text takes 

a driver’s eyes off the road for an 

average of 4.6 seconds. 


Backgrounder 

The distracted mind 

Driving a vehicle while talking on the phone is an incredibly 

complex task for our brains to accomplish. So it’s no wonder 

that in doing so we become distracted. 

The first thing to note is that multitasking is a myth. Human 

brains handle tasks sequentially. That means that when 

attempting to talk and drive at the same time, the brain will 

be switching very rapidly between the two. Research has 

shown there is a measurable time span during which the 

brain switches focus between two tasks and is not working 

on either. This lost time can be crucial to lengthening 

reaction times which are vital to safe driving. 

In addition, there can be an overload of the brain’s capacity to deal with 

all the information produced while driving and talking on a mobile phone 

simultaneously. When focusing sequentially on two tasks, the brain must 

constantly cycle through a series of steps with the incoming information, and 

this is where an overload can occur. When overloaded, the brain will prioritise 

which information is processed. This can result in critical safety cues from the 

road being filtered out, leading to distracted drivers ‘looking but not seeing’: a driver 

might be looking directly through the windshield, but fail to recognise a red light. 

Our minds can also be lulled into a false sense of security by experience, so that 

we consider most tasks while driving to be pretty much automatic. Indicating to 

turn, checking mirrors or slowing down at amber lights are all tasks we can perform 

without much thought while under an average mental workload. But when our brains 

are under an increased workload – as they are while talking on the phone – these 

tasks become less automatic and we may find ourselves failing to perform them. 

Social behaviour, cognition and distraction 

While most of us might not consider 

driving to be a social activity, it often 

turns out to be. The presence of 

passengers has been shown to increase 

crash risk, especially for young drivers. 

This is due mainly to distraction and peer 

pressure. Mobile phones have introduced 

another avenue for social communication 

to the driving experience. 

Social pressure to answer a mobile 

phone, for example, can override any 

risk analysis a driver might perform. The 

person calling might have a position of 

power over the driver, such as a boss, or 

older relative. Or the driver might fear 

appearing rude if they don’t immediately 

answer the text of a loved one. 

It isn’t, however, just direct social contact 

such as speech that plays a part in how 

we behave on the roads. When driving, 

we are sharing the road with thousands 

of other drivers and this interaction 

requires adherence to road rules. Often 

when a driver decides to break these 

rules, it is due to social pressure. The 

motivations of a driver running a red 

light, for example, could involve a range 

of social influences: 

n The driver might be encouraged by 

passengers to do so and fears losing face 

in front of them. 

n The driver could be late for a social 

appointment and assigns this a higher 

priority than the safety of other drivers. 

n The driver might be aggressive and 

perceive his or her rights as more 

important than those of other drivers. 

n The driver’s definition of ‘good driving’ 

could be skewed so that getting to the 

destination faster is considered best. 

n Risk-taking often results simply 

because the driver does not have an 

objective view of the risk being taken 

versus the importance of the social 

event. This is especially true in cases of 

interaction with a mobile phone. The 

perceived risk of glancing at a phone 

to answer a text is underestimated by 

drivers who don’t realise the negative 

effect it can have on their reaction times. 

This can make the risk of losing social 

status seem more important to address, 

resulting in the mobile phone taking 

precedence over driving safely. 

n According to Carnegie Mellon 

University research, driving while 

using a mobile phone reduces the 

amount of brain activity associated 

with driving by 37%. 

n Your risk of a crash is four times 

greater if you use a mobile phone 

while driving compared to your risk 

if you don’t use your phone. 

n In June 2011, more than 196 

billion text messages were sent or 

received in the United States, up 

nearly 50% from June 2009. 

n Young people use their phone 

more overall as well as while 

driving: a 2010 study found 61% 

of Australian drivers aged 18 to 

24 years texted while driving, 

compared with 32% of drivers aged 

more than 25 years. 

SOURCES: www.distraction.gov/ 

content/get-the-facts/facts-andstatistics.html; 

Centre for Automotive 

Safety Research, University of Adelaide; 

Centre for Accident Research and 

Road Safety, Queensland; Mobile 

phone use: a growing problem of driver 

distraction, WHO report; Understanding 

the distracted brain: Why driving while 

using hands-free cell phones is risky 

behavior, National Safety Council 

white paper, March 2010, http://www. 

fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/ 

NSC%20White%20Paper%20-%20 

Distracted%20Driving%203-10.pdf 

123RF 


Explore (student activities) 

Station Two 

[Task] 2. Friction and stopping distance 

1. Students each choose a toy spring-loaded car to race. 

2. Students each choose one of the three surfaces (carpet, top of a desk and tiles or concrete floor). 

3. Lay the metre ruler or tape measure out as the starting line. 

4. Release the cars. 

5. Measure the distances travelled and record in the table below. 

Distance Travelled Surface 1 - carpet Surface 2 - desk Surface 3 – concrete/tiles 

Trial 1 

Trial 2 

Trial 3 

Average 

Repeat twice more. 

Repeat steps 2-6 again with the two other surfaces. 

Answer the following questions: 

Which surface allowed the car to travel the furthest? 

Why might this be the case? 

What forces are acting on the car as it travels on the surface? 

What could be done to the surfaces to make the car travel further or faster? 

What could be done to the surfaces to make the car slow down quicker? 


Explore (student activities) 

Station Three 

[Task] 3. Looking away and staying on task 

1. Students work in pairs. 

2. Draw a single-line track for the toy car to be ‘driven’ along that zigzags and loops from one corner of the 

paper to the diagonally opposite corner. 

3. Push the car by hand and make sure the track takes about 20 to 30 seconds to complete. 

4. Person 1 reads from the book and/or iPad/smartphone while trying to ‘drive’ the car along the track. To do this 

each ‘driver’ pushes the car along the line at a steady pace and, at intervals, looks down to read a single word 

while trying to keep the car on the line. 

5. Before going on, estimate how many consecutive words each ‘driver’ can read while keeping the toy car at a 

steady pace along the line. This is added to the results table below. 

6. If person 1 can keep the car moving along the line without driving off it while reading one word at a time, they must 

then read two consecutive words from the book, iPad or phone while keeping the car moving at a steady pace. 

7. If person 1 can keep the car moving along the line without driving off it they must then read three consecutive 

words from the book, iPad or phone while keeping the car moving at a steady pace. 

8. Person 1 continues in this fashion by increasing the number of consecutive words they read each time they 

look away. The whole time they must keep the car at constant speed as it moves over the line. 

9. Person 2 makes sure person 1 keeps the car on the line and records how many words they can read before 

they drive the toy car off the track. 

10. Each student estimates the time they had their eyes off the track when they were unable to keep the car on 

the line. The stopwatch is used to help calculate this figure, which is added to the results table. 

11. Person 1 and person 2 swap places and repeat the experiment. 

Results 

person 

predicted number of consecutive 

words that can be read before 

the car is driven off the line 

number of consecutive words 

read before driving the toy car 

off the line 

estimated time looking away before task 

could not be performed (ie, before car 

came off the line) 

1 

2 

Answer the following questions: 

When might a real driver attempt to read while driving a car? 

Is it ever safe to read while driving, even at traffic lights? Why or why not? 


Explain (introduction) 

Teacher’s 

Teacher’s information 

In this section, we explain the science of road safety by getting students to read articles and information about 

road safety issues. 

This section suggests discussion topics and activities linked to those articles. 

Before reading any of the articles there is a brainstorm activity to get students thinking about some of the unsafe 

behaviours that might lead to road accidents. 

Each article will have its own literacy activities, which includes: 

• Glossary 

• Comprehension and summary 

• Questioning toolkit 

The articles include: 

Article one – Distracted driving 

Lists the top five ways in which drivers are distracted. 

Article two – The physics of stopping distance 

Understanding the relationship of stopping distance to reaction time and how the relationship of energy and 

speed influences the size of the impact. 

Article three – True story: I shouldn’t have survived... 

r eso u r c e 

A driver’s account of how being distracted while driving completely changed his life and his outlook on driving. 


Explain (introduction) 

Teacher’s 

Teacher’s information 

In this section, we explain the science of road safety by getting students to read articles and information about 

road safety issues. 

This section suggests discussion topics and activities linked to those articles. 

Before reading any of the articles there is a brainstorm activity to get students thinking about some of the unsafe 

behaviours that might lead to road accidents. 

Each article will have its own literacy activities, which includes: 

• Glossary 

• Comprehension and summary 

• Questioning toolkit 

The articles include: 

Article one – Distracted driving 

Lists the top five ways in which drivers are distracted. 

Article two – The physics of stopping distance 

Understanding the relationship of stopping distance to reaction time and how the relationship of energy and 

speed influences the size of the impact. 

Article three – True story: I shouldn’t have survived... 

r eso u r c e 

A driver’s account of how being distracted while driving completely changed his life and his outlook on driving. 


Explain (article one) 

Brainstorming 

[Task] Think of the top driver distractions 

As a large group, brainstorm the different ways you think a driver could be distracted when driving. 

When you have made as many suggestions as possible, have a go at identifying what you think the top 10 most 

common distractions for drivers are, and write them in the table below. 

Now have a go at ranking your top 10 driver distractions from 1 (most common distracter) to 10 (least common 

distracter) in the right hand column. 

List of top 10 driver distractions Rank (1 to 10) 

1. Did everyone agree on the same most common driver distraction? 

2. How many of the distractions in your top 10 list were unavoidable distractions that were created by 

the drivers themselves? 

3. Why do you think drivers might create distractions for themselves? 

4. What affect do you think driver distractions would have on a driver’s response if he or she had to brake quickly? 

5. How could a slow response from a driver be worse than a quick driver response? 

6. Do you think that driver distractions could be a major cause of car accidents? Why or why not? 

7. What should you say to someone who is choosing to carry out distractive behaviour in a car while driving? 


The top five 

worst driver distractions 

What’s really turning drivers’ heads? 

Explain (article one) 

YOU’RE DRIVING ALONG calmly when you suddenly notice a bus shelter ad for 

a new movie you’ve wanted to see. You crane your neck to see the opening date 

while reaching for your mobile phone and calling to let your friend know. 

The friend answers and you need to turn down the music blasting through your 

speakers. So you cram your mobile under your neck, look down to adjust the 

volume, accidentally knock over your fries and coke lodged behind the gear shift 

and... congratulations, you’ve just hit the back of a bus! 

NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner 

John Hartley, says there’s little doubt that distracted drivers can cause traffic 

problems and road crashes. 

123RF 

He says there are many distractions on the road, including an increasing amount 

of traffic. Additionally, drivers have to contend with new or more affordable 

technologies such as smartphones, MP3 players, GPS devices and in-car DVDs. 

Here are some of the biggest distractions: 

1. Mobile phones (talking and texting) 

Speaking on a mobile while driving can increase 

the collision risk by four times, according to several 

studies. Sending a text message is even worse. 

A hands-free device can also be a distraction, so your 

best bet is to turn it off. No conversation is worth a 

whopping fine, demerit points and, possibly, crashing. 

2. Adjusting vehicle settings 

Many people don’t realise it’s dangerous to fiddle with 

the radio, airconditioning or windows while driving, but 

this type of distraction is a common bad driving habit. 

“Crashes often occur as a result of only a moment’s 

inattention,” says Assistant Commissioner Hartley. 

“While you’re changing the CD or skimming through 

songs on your MP3, your full attention isn’t on the road 

and [it is] placing you at risk of a crash,” he says. The best 

idea is to make any adjustments before you set off or put 

your MP3 on shuffle before you begin your journey. 

3. Passengers 

Young drivers have a greater risk of crashing when 

they have friends in the car. Statistics also tell us 

there’s more chance of causing a fatal crash when you 

have two or more friends in the car, especially male 

passengers. However, the risk is reduced when 

carrying an adult or a child, compared with carrying 

no passengers. 

4. Eating, drinking and smoking 

Aside from the obvious dangers of drink driving, even 

sipping on a non-alcoholic drink takes your focus off 

the road. 

An American study has found that eating a 

cheeseburger can be more distracting than talking on 

a mobile phone. And the risk of causing a crash is just 

one more reason not to smoke! 

5. External distractions 

As if there wasn’t enough happening inside the car, 

there are lots of distractions outside too. Make sure 

you look out for other drivers and pedestrians, while 

trying to block out the roadside billboards, shops and 

all manner of unexpected or interesting things going 

on in the streets. 

123RF 

This is an edited version of an article from the NSW Roads and Traffic 

Authority’s GEARED website www.rta.nsw.gov.au/geared/ 


Elaborate 

Linked Activity 1 

MEASURING SPEED AND AcceLERATION WITH TICKER TIMERS 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

Ticker timers can be used to analyse the speed and acceleration of moving objects by making dots on a strip of paper 50 

times a second. When the strip of paper is moved through the ticker timer quickly, the dots are further apart than on a strip 

of paper that is moved through more slowly. 

PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO TICKER TIMERS 

AIM 

To become familiar with ticker timers 

MATERIALS 

• Ticker timer 

• Ticker tape 

• Sticky tape 

• AC power supply 

• Ruler 

METHOD 

Set up the ticker timer equipment with about 1 m of tape threaded through the ticker timer. Start the ticker timer and pull the 

tape through as quickly as you can. Turn off the ticker timer. 

Paste the ticker tape below. 

Discussion: 

1. Describe how the dots appear to be spaced. 

2. What was different about the dot spacing at the start and the end of the ticker tape? 

3. You can calculate the average velocity of the tape as you pulled it through the ticker tape by dividing the distance between 

two dots by the time. 

Analyse your ticker tape and add the data into the spaces below. 

Distance between the first and last dot = 

cm 

Number of intervals = 

Time = (number of intervals) x 0.02 sec = 

seconds 

Average velocity = (distance) Average velocity = ( ) = cm/sec 

time ( ) 

coNCLUSION 

Write a conclusion that responds to your aim and summarises your results.

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