Inattention is one of the biggest killers
on our roads today. Did you know inattention or distractions account
for almost as many fatalities in WA as speeding, or drink driving?
That's why the RAC has created the world's first Attention Powered Car
to tackle the issue and hopefully find some solutions. Learn more as
Murdoch University Psychology Professor, Dr Jefferies, and Royal Perth
Hospital's Head of Trauma, Dr Rao, explain inattention.
http://www.forthebetter.com.au When we
think about causes of inattention when driving we instantly think about
things like mobile phones and passengers. But we wanted to know if
different emotional states could be just as distracting, so we put 5
drivers to the test in the Attention Powered Car to see just how
distracting our emotions can be. We're back at the RAC Driving Centre
to delve into this issue of inattention on our roads and see the true
impact different emotional states really has on our attention levels
when driving. To see what we've learning about driver inattention, and
to get involved with making WA roads safer, go to
http://www.forthebetter.com.au
http://www.forthebetter.com.au There
are plenty of things in our cars these days that can be distracting,
but what are the worst? We took the Attention Powered Car on the
world's longest inattention road test and we discovered that on average
our drivers lost attention at least once every minute. The Attention
Powered Car then headed back to the RAC Driving Centre where further
tests were conducted to investigate initial findings from the road
trip. In this new webisode we explore some of the different in car
distractions and the impact they can have on a driver's attention
levels. From mobile usage to eating and drinking, see the surprising
results on what are the worst in car distractions from our experiments.
To see what we've learning about driver inattention, and to get
involved with making WA roads safer, go to
http://www.forthebetter.com.au
http://forthebetter.com.au/
We took the Attention Powered Car on the world's longest inattention road test and we discovered that on average our drivers lost attention at least once every minute.
The Attention Powered Car then headed back to the RAC Driving Centre where further tests were conducted to investigate initial findings from the road trip.
In this new webisode we explore the effects a passenger can have on a driver's attention levels and ways in which passengers might help drivers regain or keep attention behind the wheel.
To see what we've learning about driver inattention, and to get involved with making WA roads safer, go to http://forthebetter.com.au/
In an effort to learn more about driver
inattention, one of the biggest killers on WA roads, RAC created the
world's first Attention Powered Car -- a car that goes when you're
paying attention and slows when you're not. On the final
leg of our road trip, we visited Narrogin in the Wheatbelt, which is
also often dubbed by emergency services as the 'accident belt'. Here,
single vehicle crashes with young drivers behind the wheel are
particularly high, so we wanted to see if inattention was part of the
problem. Our first driver, Shawn, took the Attention
Powered Car and few mates around town. Not surprisingly, his mates
proved to be a distraction, as well as thinking about his girlfriend
and sadly, friends lost on the road. Next up was Speedway Driver Coby.
She performed well on the open road, but had plenty inattention moments
to match. Perhaps most telling though, was her insight into the minds
of many drivers who even after being made aware of their limitations,
aren't likely to change behaviour. Check out the video to
see the Attention Powered Car on the road and how our drivers
performed. Plus, follow the journey, watch all webisodes from our
journey and keep up-to-date with what we have planned next by visiting
forthebetter.com.au
The Attention Powered Car, developed by
the RAC, is into leg 3 of its road trip around WA visiting towns
including Donnybrook, Nannup and Pemberton, heading to Albany and then
finishing in the Wheatbelt town of Narrogin. In this
episode we put two drivers behind the wheel that drive for a living. We
wanted to see if their professional experience influenced their
attention levels. How will our Ambo and Australia's best truck driver
perform? First up was Mike. As a St John's Ambulance
Volunteer, he needs to be calm and confident driving under pressure and
at high speed. And it showed. So too with our second driver, Murray,
who's TNT Australia's best truck driver. Both came out determined and
focused to prove they had the edge. To some degree they did. Incidences
of inattention were fewer and further between, but they were still
there. Encouragingly, both drivers were much better at refocusing when
they did lose attention. Check out this webisode to see
just how they performed, as well as what insights we are finding about
driver inattention as we take the Attention Powered Car through
southern WA.
