Effects of cognitive distraction on speed control in curve negotiation

Objective: Maintaining a lower speed is recommended for curve negotiation and it has been shown that cognitive distraction may impair driving performance. This study examines the effects of different levels of cognitive distraction on the speed control of drivers negotiating a curve.

Methods: Experiments were conducted on a 6 degrees of freedom driving simulator with 28 participants. A comparison of the speed and acceleration from 300 m before to 100 m after the curve was performed for baseline driving (without distraction) and 3 levels of cognitive distractions using n-back tasks.

Results: The speed was significantly higher at the highest level of cognitive distraction (8%) than in baseline driving from the beginning of the curve to 50 m after it and the ratio of the highest level to the baseline was even greater throughout the range. The average acceleration was significantly higher than the baseline at the highest and the medium levels (80 and 70%, respectively) from 250 m before the curve to the one-quarter curve and from 250 to 150 m before the curve, respectively. It was also found that the point of deceleration was significantly delayed at the highest level of cognitive distraction and occurred only after the middle of the curve, whereas deceleration in baseline driving occurred just before entering the curve.

Conclusions: The impairment due to cognitive distraction was confirmed in this study but was only significant at a high level of cognitive distraction. The highly distracted drivers failed to perceive the curve in advance, resulting in a slower response to changes in the roadway. The findings indicate that acceleration may be an indicator of cognitive distraction while negotiating curves. A driver is prone to cognitive distraction and the driving performance is affected when driving requires excessive attention such as curve negotiation.