Combined effects of alcohol and distraction on driving performance

Distraction produces over-additive increases in the degree to which alcohol impairs driving performance

“…lane exceedance). Alcohol impairs driving performance on each of these measures by increasing SDLP, steering rate, and the number of lane exceedances compared with sober driving performance (Marczinski et al 2008; Fillmore 2007; Harrison and Fillmore 2008; Harrison and Fillmore 2005; Rakauskas et al 2008; Shinar et al 2005; Verster et al 2009). These impairments are typically observed at BrACs at or above 0.08%.…”

“…Surprisingly little research has been conducted on the combined effects of alcohol and distraction. One study (Rakauskas et al 2008) examined the separate and combined effects of distraction and alcohol at BrACs just below the legal limit (i.e. ~0.075%).…”

Alcohol-Impaired Driving: Average Quantity Consumed and Frequency of Drinking Do Matter

“…Because the risk of a fatal crash literally multiplies with increased alcohol concentration, moderate drinkers certainly present a danger. Since Zador's estimates were made, more details on the impairment 24 Downloaded by [York University Libraries] (Rakauskas et al 2008;Ridderinkhof et al 2002). Furthermore, drivers with a BAC between 0.01 and 0.07 in fatal crashes were 5 times more likely to have had a prior conviction for driving under the influence than drivers with a BAC of 0.00 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Center for Statistics and Analysis 2009).…”

Long-term retention of a divided attention psycho-motor test combining choice reaction test and postural balance test: A preliminary study

“…For instance, alcohol reduces multitasking ability (Wester et al, 2010;Harrison and Fillmore, 2011) and it impairs executive functions (Rudin-Brown et al, 2013), while both physical and mental fatigue inhibit attentional shift control, which is directing attention to a specific point (Lorist et al, 2002;Boksem et al, 2005). Moreover, fatigue also accentuates the effects of alcohol and other psychotropic substances (Mills et al, 2001;Rakauskas et al, 2008). Cognitive load may also influence the driver's attention (Kantowitz, 2000;Brookhuis and De Waard, 2010).…”