Variety of attentional failures in traffic accidents

Motivation - Attentional problems have been considered by many authors as one of the main causes of traffic accidents, but the results given leave to presume a certain notional vagueness. Research approach - Analysis of the detailed data gathered at traffic accident scenes (EDA - Etudes Detaillees d'Accidents) is an original tool that can be used for fine definition of accident-causing difficulties encountered by drivers. In a study conducted with this methodology in the frame of the European TRACE (Traffic Accident Causation in Europe) project, we have differentiated three types of attentional disturbances: inattention, distraction and competition for attention . Findings/Design -Attention problems in accidentology are diverse and such a diversity is essential to define their characteristics (the situations in which they intervene, the functional failures they provoke, the associated factors, etc.) for each type of attention problem. Research Implications - This study supplements the fundamental knowledge on attentional processes in driving situation. This acquired knowledge will also be useful to define optimized ergonomic developments to cope more effectively with the various problems of attention and to adapt new driving aid devices as a consequence. Take away message - Thus, attention problems in traffic accidents constitute a complex field of study concerning all drivers.