Cited by 180Traffic and Road SafetyHuman-Automation Interaction and SafetySleep and Work-Related Fatigue

Keep your eyes on the road: young driver crash risk increases according to duration of distraction

Open access
Simons-Morton, Bruce G., Guo, Feng, Klauer, Sheila G., Ehsani, Johnathon P., Pradhan, Anuj K.·2014·Journal of Adolescent Health

Abstract

PURPOSE: Secondary task engagement that distracts the driver is a contributing factor to motor vehicle crashes among adults. However, the association between eye glance duration and crash risk with novice teenage drivers has not been determined. METHODS: Vehicles of 42 newly licensed teenage drivers were instrumented with cameras, accelerometers, Global Positioning System(s) (GPS), and other devices. Data were collected continuously for 18 months. Crashes and near crashes (CNCs) were identified by examining highly elevated gravitational force events. Video footage of the 6 seconds prior to each CNC and randomly sampled non-CNC road segments were coded for the duration of eye glances off the forward roadway and the presence of secondary task engagement. The likelihood (odds ratios) of CNC due to eye glance behavior was calculated by comparing the prevalence of secondary task engagement and duration of eyes off road prior to CNC with the prevalence and duration of eyes off road during non-CNC road segments. RESULTS: Crash risk increased with the duration of single longest glance during all secondary tasks (OR=3.8 for >2 s) and wireless secondary task engagement (OR=5.5 for >2 s). Single longest glance provided a more consistent estimate of crash risk than total time eyes off the forward roadway. CONCLUSIONS: Those eye glances away from the forward roadway involving secondary tasks increased the likelihood of CNC. The longer the duration of eye glance away from the road the greater the risk, regardless of type of secondary task. Education and policy discouraging secondary task engagement, particularly for prolonged periods, is warranted.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.11.021

Cites

28 of 28 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Teens are more likely to engage in other types of secondary tasks which are distracting and to have longer periods of off-road glances.

    “In addition to using their phones, teens are more likely to engage in other types of secondary tasks which are distracting and to have longer periods of off-road glances (13).”

    From An Integrative Review on Teen Distracted Driving for Model Program Development (2019) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports simulation research finding that novice drivers look away from the road for longer periods than adults during in-vehicle secondary tasks. The Introduction and Discussion describe distracting tasks beyond phone use, but do not say teens engage in those tasks more often than adults. The Discussion also says this study could not determine whether teens' off-road glances lasted longer than adults'. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Teens have a higher risk of engaging in texting or secondary tasks, e.g., eating while driving.

    “Teens have a higher risk of engaging in texting or secondary tasks, e.g., eating while driving.”

    From An Integrative Review on Teen Distracted Driving for Model Program Development (2019) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) identifies texting and eating as secondary tasks and reports that engaging in them increased teenage drivers’ crash or near-crash risk. It does not say teens are more likely than other drivers to engage in those tasks; the higher risk reported is a risk of crashing, not of engaging in a task. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 29 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [16]Klauer SG Guo F Simons-Morton BG Ouimet MC Lee SE Dingus TA Crash and Near Crash Risk Due to Secondary Task Engagement Among Novice and Experienced Drivers Under Review

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Simons-Morton, B. G., Guo, F., Klauer, S. G., Ehsani, J. P., & Pradhan, A. K.
Affiliations
  • Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (US)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (US)
Venue
Journal of Adolescent Health
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-05
Volume
54
Issue
5
Pages
S61-S67
ISSN
1054-139X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2035003741
Cited by
180
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1
FWCI
35.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Adolescent Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Z01HD001707, ZIAHD001707)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality › Traffic and Road Safety
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Human-Automation Interaction and Safety
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
Keywords
young drivers, teenage drivers, secondary task engagement, driver distraction, crash risk, near-crashes, traffic accidents, novice drivers
MeSH terms
Accident Prevention, Accidents, Traffic, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Attention, Automobile Driving, Female, Humans, Male, Psychomotor Performance, Risk-Taking, United States, Risk Assessment

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review