19th Annual Student Research Conference
Human Potential and Performance
Effects of Cell Phone Usage and Eating on a Driver's Response Time
Austin A. Brown*, Jaret M. Copeman, Jennifer L. Gerber, and Ashli M. Meek
Dr. Jeremy Houser and Dr. Jerry Mayhew, Faculty Mentors
This study investigated the effects of performing various tasks on response time during simulating driving. Twenty-two subjects (8 M, 14 F) simulated driving using a Playstation II while eating a taco, talking on a cordless phone, or in a control setting. The driving simulation was projected onto a screen with subjects seated 10 feet from the screen. Subjects participated individually and were randomly assigned to test order. Experimenters started the response timer by pushing the “brake” button. Subjects stopped the response timer by stepping on a brake pedal after seeing the simulation’s brake lights. Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc testing indicated that significant differences existed between conditions, but not between genders. The control condition (M=0.739, F=0.783) yielded faster response times than the eating condition (M=0.864, F=0.905), and the phone condition resulted in the slowest response times (M=1.018, F=0.947). Answering questions possibly hindered concentration during the phone condition.
Keywords: response time, driving, distractions, cell phone usage, eating
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 48-5
Location: VH 1000
Time: 3:45