Distracted Drivers An experiment designed to test the attention that drivers are giving to the road.

Project Introduction Name: Gabrielle Riley Grade: 10 I am a Full time FLVS student Courses being taken through FLVS: English III, Algebra II, Physical Science, Psychology, Spanish I, Global Studies Previous science classes: Earth Space science and Biology I am most interested in computer science and biology. I intend to go to Medical school later in my life and specialize in Neurology.

Hypothesis When more distractions are added to the road, the driver will be more likely to crash. Flashy things like video billboard signs are making the roads more dangerous.

Initial Research and Works Cited My initial idea was spurred from my own inability to maintain full concentration when I see things such as video billboards on the roads. When I consulted others to see if they experience they say, I found that other people also report the same. When I researched fatality rates, I saw that fatality rates in car crashes reached its peak in 2006, when technology allowed additional items to be added to the road, such as flashing billboards. The fatality rate has began to decrease within the last few years, which can be attributed to increased auto safety standards.

Materials and Methods To create the driving simulation, I used Unreal Development Kit. I created 2 different tracks. In one track, there were no distractions and the road was completely plain. However, in the second track, there were many additional items added to distract the player. I asked the participants to go around each track 10 times and keep track of how many times they crashed in each simulation. Once they completed each track, the participants were asked to complete an anonymous survey.

Results The results of the experiment show that the participants were more likely to crash on a course that had many distractions than they were on a course that had no distractions. In an anonymous survey, participants were asked how many times the crashed on each course. Participants were also asked if they felt the Distraction Driving Course was more difficult than the course without distractions.

Results cont. The results show that participants crashed more times during the Distraction Driving Course than they did n the Plain Driving Course.

Results cont. 80% of all of the participants agreed that the Distraction Driving Course was more difficult than the Plain Driving Course.

Discussion The results of the experiment agreed with the assumption that an increase of distractions on the road will increase the probability of a crash. However, the results of the experiment are not guaranteed to be the same in real life. Real Life driving is not a simulator. As a result, many people are more likely to purposefully pay more attention to the road since their personal safety is at risk. Furthermore, driving using WASD keys is not the same as driving with a steering wheel. Since a simulator can never replicate real life, there is the possibility for error.

Conclusion My hypothesis was proven correct; when more distractions are added to the road, the driver is more likely to crash. 80% of participants agreed that the driving experience was more difficult when additional items were added to the road. With this new research, people should be troubled by the sudden occurrence of flashing billboards, lit up buildings, and excessive light sources radiating from people’s cars. These additional distractions are making the roads more unsafe and have the possibility of causing more car crashes. In conclusion, the additional distractions that are being added to the road are a threat to public safety. Governments should regulate the amount of distractions and the amount of light that can come from things that are near or on the road.

Acknowledgements Thank you to all those who participated in my experiment! Thank you Epic Games for releasing the Unreal Game Engine to the public. Thanks to NHTSA for posting car crash statistics.