Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the accumulating evidence base on driver distraction and inattention. Evidence from the USA suggests that driver distraction and driver inattention are more important than some other factors often thought to be critical in crash causation, such as fatigue, drug ingestion and alcohol intoxication. The advances in understanding of driver distraction and driver inattention, together with the rapidly changing socio-technical landscape, make it important to create an up-to-date compilation of research on these topics. More important are collision warning and other technologies that alert drivers to potential hazards. Such technologies might mitigate distraction by helping distracted drivers to direct their attention back to the road. More generally, vehicle automation changes the role of the driver from active controller to monitor, radically altering what it means to be an “attentive driver”.