ATTENTION DEFICIT
Think you can safely send a quick text while driving? Think again. We team up with a pro racing driver to see how distractions really affect driving
LACK of concentration and failing to pay attention remain the biggest contributing factors in road accidents in the UK, with thousands of drivers and pedestrians killed or seriously injured as a result.
That’s not helped by the growing number of distractions fitted to modern vehicles, whether it’s increasingly advanced infotainment systems or the latest smartphones offering everything from sat-nav functions to hands-free calls.
Factor in those who continue to flout tougher laws on using a mobile phone to call or text, and it’s little wonder there are so many incidents caused by not concentrating.
Auto Express investigated what people got up to on the morning commute in Issue 1,462 to compile a list of the most common traffic offences. Unsurprisingly, mobile phone use topped the survey, whether that was making a call or looking at maps, while eating and drinking polled highly, too.
While all of these will harm your ability to focus properly behind the wheel, which is the worst? And how much impact do they really have? To find out, we teamed up with Base Performance Simulators in Banbury, Oxfordshire, to gather data to be analysed by biometrics and road safety experts to assess just how damaging making a call, sending a text or eating and drinking can be to driving.
We also drafted in the help of former British GT4 champion and current Formula 3 contender Jamie Chadwick to see how distractions can impact even a professional driver.
Alongside Jamie, we set benchmark laps in the simulator – set up for a Honda Civic Type R – around the short Silverstone National circuit with its combination of high and low-speed corners, straights and heavy braking zones. At the end of the final lap, we were instructed to brake at the start/finish line to judge our reaction speed.
This was repeated for each distraction, and Tim Shallcross from IAM Roadsmart analysed the difference in driving style for each, the resultant lap time and change in braking distance. We were both also fitted with a bio-harness to monitor our heart rate, respiration rate, core temperature and posture.
This BIOCOM system is used by pro athletes to ensure they’re operating at peak physical performance. Lower blood pressure and calm breathing can directly translate to smoother, better driving, while an erratic heart rate and over-exertion would eventually result in loss of focus. These biometric results would be analysed by fitness analyst John Camilleri. So how did we fare?