Looked but failed to see: Effect of short phone conversations on visual attention in simulated driving

The inattention in the steering wheel is defined as the reorientation of the driver's attention from the processing of the road scene to the processing of the other information sources (phoning, thinking...). Inspired by the Strayer and al.' study (2003, Experiment 3), the present study investigates the inattentionnal blindness to the road environment provoked by short-lasting (< 20 sec) and factual phone conversations. The protocol consisted of a motorway circuit alternating "only driving" and "driving and phoning" periods. On the motorway, 30 panels on portico presenting common nouns were scattered such as half were seen in "only driving" period and the other one in " driving and phoning" period. Phone conversations consisted of an exchange of questions/answers. During driving session, the ocular behavior drivers was recorded. An incidental recognition test of road panels was then proposed. Names presented in "driving and phoning" period are less correctly recognized, without the eye parameters differ significantly from the situation of " only driving" period. As during communications of more long-lasting, the drivers would be as inattentively blind to the road scene. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to other sources of inattention in driving.