Measuring driver distraction - Evaluation of the box task method as a tool for assessing in-vehicle system demand

Several tools have been developed over the past twenty years to assess the degree of driver distraction caused by secondary task engagement. A relatively new and promising method in this area is the box task combined with a detection response task (BT + DRT). However, no evaluation regarding the BT's sensitivity currently exists. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the BT + DRT by comparing its sensitivity to the sensitivity of already established methods. Twenty-nine participants engaged in several artificial and realistic secondary tasks while either performing the BT + DRT, the Lane Change Test (LCT), or driving through a simple course in a simulator. The results showed that the BT parameters (especially the standard deviation of box position and size) were sensitive to differences in demand across the visual-manual secondary tasks. This was comparable to what was found with the LCT. Surprisingly, the BT performance measures were more sensitive than those of the driving simulation task. The BT + DRT also captured cognitive distraction effects with the integration of the DRT. Hence, the BT + DRT could be a cost-effective method to assess in-vehicle system demand. However, further investigations are necessary to better understand the potential of the BT method.