Effect of mobile-phone position on the visual and driving behavior: A LCT based study

This study aims to investigate the effect of the position of mobile-phones used for navigation purpose on the driving performance and visual behavior of drivers. With the advancement of technology in recent times, drivers of mobile-application based taxi services (MABTS) use mobile-phones for providing service booking and navigation. Previous studies showed that the drivers place the in-vehicle mobile phone at various locations as per their choice. This behavior could severely affect their driving performance and visual behavior. Thirty drivers performed visual-manual tasks on mobile-phone located at different positions (left, right, front, and middle of the steering wheel) around the dashboard while driving in a simulated driving environment. Lane Change Test (LCT) assessed the driving behavior, and the eye-tracker measured the visual behavior. The outcome of LCT revealed that the best driving performance was achieved for mobile-phone located at the front of the steering wheel. The subjective workload rating score was highest, and driving performance was worst for the middle mobile phone position. The findings of this study show that the in-vehicle mobile phone position has a significant effect on the driving performance and visual behavior of the drivers. Insights drawn could be useful in drafting standard operating procedure for the MABTS drivers in particular and others in general.