Capturing Voluntary, Involuntary, and Habitual Components of Driver Distraction in a Self-Reported Questionnaire

To maximize the effectiveness of strategies for mitigating driver distraction, it is crucial to understand the factors underlying drivers’ engagement in distractions. This article describes a step toward an improved version of the Susceptibility to Driver Distraction Questionnaire (SDDQ), namely the development of an exploratory questionnaire based on findings from the original SDDQ. In this exploratory questionnaire, the Theory of Planned Behaviour continues to serve as the framework for investigating voluntary distractions, relating intentional actions to attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and perceived social norms regarding distractions. Involuntary distractions are captured by investigating the difficulty associated with ignoring information that is not critical for safe driving. A new component of habitual behaviours is also added to measure distractions that involve minimal conscious control, yet were once intentional and goal-driven. The resulting exploratory questionnaire will be used in an upcoming online survey study to determine the items that most effectively capture voluntary, involuntary, and habitual distraction. An improved SDDQ will be generated based on analyses of this pending study.