Distracted driving

Attention while Driving

It’s illegal in the UK to use a handheld phone while driving. This makes a lot of sense: it’s dangerous to take your eyes off the road and your hands off the steering wheel when you need to control your vehicle. But research into human attention tells us that having your mind off the task of driving is also a key issue. Try out this quick quiz to learn more about how drivers apply their attention, and what happens when they try to multitask behind the wheel.

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Find out more!

Research shows that drivers distracted by their phones have a heightened crash risk, even if they use their phone hands-free. They also often fail to notice hazards and take longer to react to important events in the driving situation. The mental distraction caused by phone-use means drivers are far less aware of what is going on around them. Find out more in the links below.

More Info

Click the play button to watch OU x BBC Ideas video 'Can you really Multitask?'

If you want to learn more about research in this area, and test the limits of your own attention, check out the following links:

Driving Change website, an on-going project focused on distracted driving

Find out if you're a focused driver

Take on the mobile office challenge

Test the limits of your attention