On the impact of advanced driver assistance systems on driving distraction and risky behaviour: An empirical analysis of irish commercial drivers

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) present promising benefits in mitigating road collisions. However, these benefits are limited when risky drivers continue

engaging in distraction events. While there is evidence that real-time warnings help improve driving behaviour, the sustained benefits of warning-based ADAS on

reducing driving distraction in light commercial vehicle (LCV) drivers remain unclear. This research determines the effect of receiving instant distraction warnings

over two years using a naturalistic driving dataset comprising around one million trips from 373 LCV drivers in the Republic of Ireland. Furthermore, the study

applies Association Rule Mining (ARM) to find the contextual variables (e.g., speed limit, road type, traffic conditions) that increase the likelihood of distraction

events. The results show that warning-based ADAS providing real-time warnings helps reduce distraction events triggering driver inattention, forward collision, and

lane departure warnings. Over half of the studied fleet reduced these warnings by at least 50% – lane departure after two months and driver inattention and forward

collision after six months. It is found that both passive and active monitoring systems, coupled with coaching and rewards, significantly reduce aggressive driving

behaviours tied to harsh acceleration (by 76%) and harsh braking (by 65%). The results of ARM show that the driving context introduces explanatory information for

road safety programs. Low-speed urban roads and the summer season increase the likelihood of driver inattention and forward collision warnings. In contrast, high-speed rural roads increase the likelihood of lane departure warnings. These research findings support road safety stakeholders in developing risk assessments based on warning-based ADAS, targeted campaigns to reduce driving distraction, and driving coaching programs