Analyzing Driving Behavior: An Information Processing Perspective

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of information processing on driving performance. The question is that whether driving by practice become automatic. This article, first, will argue the important role of psychology in safety enhancement. Then, it will investigate how cognitive components, such as cognitive capacity and mental overload, may affect driving skills. For example, cognitive requirements of some of driving skills, such as gear changing, time to collision and dynamic risk-taking judgments are discussed. Finally, the effect of concurrent mobile phone use on driving performance is discussed. It is concluded that driving is not automated. Since the cognitive capacity is limited, overloading may increase the probability of error in driving performance, which in consequence may result in road accident