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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

Virtual tests yield real results when it comes to driver distractions.
BY SARAH SEKULA, ’00

I have road rage.

At least that’s what my sister tells
me. My aggressive driving tendencies
are clear in her eyes: I honk at drivers
who cut in front of me; I shoot evil
glances at reckless drivers weaving in
and out of traffic; and, yes, I occasion-
ally tailgate.
I hate to admit it, but my sibling
is right this time. I recently filled out
an aggressive driver questionnaire
created by UCF psychology professors
Mustapha Mouloua, Edward
Rinalducci and Edwin Shirkey and
graduate students Meredith Bell and
Davin Pavlas. My answers all point to
uber aggression.
The telling questionnaire is part of
a study the professors conducted to
measure the effects of these unsafe
driving behaviors — and others like This UCF student straps into an on-campus driving simulator and puts his steering prowess to the test.
rude gestures, flashing high beams at
slower traffic and speeding — on

F the lane deviations correlated with

driving performance. It’s a pertinent
study, especially when you consider a
quarter of all traffic crashes are
caused by distractions, including
aggressive drivers, which annually
account for 1.2 million incidents,
according to research conducted by
the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Upon completing the question-
naire, a test subject then hits the vir-
tual roadways in high and moderate
traffic scenarios. The setup: a PC-based
driving simulator affectionately
named “Midtown Madness,” complete
with a steering wheel, central control
buttons and floor pedals. Reviewers
then tally up the number of no-nos
committed like lane deviations, speed
limit violations or collisions.
may F june 2008
several items on the questionnaire
such as tailgating, yelling insults or
flashing brights to slower drivers;
and
F collisions were significantly corre-
lated with stress.
While further research is needed,
the initial results clearly indicate that
the questionnaire is a good predictor
of driver performance.
Mouloua says the contributing
factors to road rage are widespread,
including psychological, physical and
environmental. An anger onslaught
can be a result of the type of car you
drive. For example, someone putting
the distance you drive and the roads
you take. Being stuck in a traffic
snafu versus humming along a rural
thoroughfare makes a big difference.
A more recent study that Mouloua
and his students in the human factors
doctoral program conducted focuses on
more pleasant distractions like chang-
ing the radio station, yapping on your
cell phone or listening to an iPod. This
study measures the effects of these
devices and other in-vehicle distractors
and how they affect driving perform-
ance and workload.
In the iPod study a subject begins
the driving simulation and simultane-
ously must perform a specific task
such as firing up an iPod and choosing

along in a 1989 Dodge Caravan may an artist and song or having a cell
In the end, the researchers found:
F significant correlations existed
very well be more perturbed than phone conversation.
someone zipping along in a brand new “We found that those who use the
between traffic conditions and lane Jaguar. Road rage can also come from iPod have an increased number of lane
deviations;

14 Pegasus www.ucfalumni.com

Psychology professor and consummate researcher Mustapha Mouloua interacts daily with students in the simulation lab.
deviations, crossing the medians, leav-
ing the road and so forth when com-
pared to the phases of those not using
an iPod,” Mouloua says. “There are
even times when they crash into anoth-
er car.”
Notably, he cites that the findings
should provoke concern for law
enforcement, legislators, the automo-
tive industry and, of course, the
device manufacturers themselves.
What is the answer? Many states
think outlawing in-vehicle devices,
such as hand-held cell phones, is the
way to go. Mouloua disagrees: “We
believe banning is not the solution.”
In the cell phone study, results
clearly show that hands-free devices
are not risk free. In fact, hands-free
devices are equally as distracting as
handheld devices.
Mouloua says it’s not about
whether you are holding the device
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the UCF Technology Incubator, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and the Metro Orlando
Economic Development Commission.
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PHOTOS: UCF PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT
or not. It’s a combination of what
you are seeing, what you are think-
ing at the time and the conversation
that’s involved. These factors all take
your attention away from the main
task at hand.
The studies don’t end there.
The psychology department has three
General Motors driving simulators —
a step up from the PC-based version —
that they plan on networking. Each
simulator has a plush seat with seat
belt, working dashboard and ignition,
and three screens that provide a 150-
degree perspective.
“We’re going to have three driv-
ers with different levels of road rage
[in the simulators] drive in the same
environment,” says Mouloua, enthu-
siastically. “We’re going to see how
well they react to a variety of road
conditions, weather conditions and
so forth. It’s going to be cool.”
BITS & BYTES
NO LONGER EASIER
SAID THAN DONE
Our voice and hands are doing
much more these days than chit-
chatting with friends and typing
on the computer. Through new
technologies being developed by
research at UCF and by companies
located in Metro Orlando, interac-
tive voice systems are operating
military aircraft and allowing
soldiers to easily communicate in
Iraq, while fingerprint ID software
is providing security measures for
our nation’s port workers and to
average citizens. A sampling of
Orlando companies leading this
charge includes Adacel — leader
in aviation speech recognition
technology, ID Solutions —
provider of fingerprint ID software
and Vcom3D — creator of iPod-
based tools for soldiers and others.
For more innovative companies in Metro
Orlando, visit www.OrlandoEDC.com.
Mouloua and his team will also
take a look at drivers’ brain wave activ-
ity in order to index driver distraction.
Overall, the team hopes its findings
will increase public awareness about
the dangers of driver distractions.
The intense look into aggressive
driving definitely had an impact on
me. I am now a recovering champion
of road rage.
may F june 2008
Pegasus 15