ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have identified the possibilities of applying the sociotechnical systems approach to safety in the road transport domain and the potential for the approach to provide alternative countermeasures to driver distraction in response to the rapid development of technology that is now commonly found within the vehicle. It has been identified that, while the relationship between error and driver distraction has been alluded to in the literature, the mechanisms involved are still unclear. To fully recognise the relationship, the causal factors that contribute to distraction are therefore required as well as the impact of the wider sociotechnical system surrounding these factors. Therefore, this chapter seeks to determine what the causal factors of distraction from in-vehicle technology are. A high-profile case study is referred to throughout the chapter to highlight the real-world applications of this research. This will also allow the contextual factors surrounding driver distraction to be determined; these are used to assess the role of the wider sociotechnical system in incidents of driver distraction.
