Distracted Driving in Teens with and without ADHD

Objective: To determine the effect cell phone conversation or text messaging has on motor vehicle collision-related injury risk in teens with or without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – Combined Type (ADHD-C) and whether a computerized cognitive intervention improves driving performance of these individuals. Patients or Other Participants: Teens (average age 17 years) with a diagnosis of ADHD-C (N=22) were matched with typically developing controls (N=21). Participants randomly assigned to the intervention completed 9 hours of training on RoadTourTM over 6 weeks. Four indicators of driving performance were recorded by the simulator: (a) deviation of lane position; (b) reaction time; (c) average driving speed; (d) total number of motor vehicle collisions. Results: The repeated measures analysis of variance revealed main effects for driving condition on (a) reaction time (F = 4.23, p = 0.02), (b) motor vehicle collisions (F = 3.31, p = 0.04), and (c) number of deviations (F = 21.68, p < 0.001). The repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant intervention effects for (a) motor vehicle crashes and (b) lane deviations. Conclusions: Distraction negatively impacts driving performance of novice teenager drivers, regardless of ADHD-C status. Preliminary evidence suggests that the RoadTour TM intervention may be an effective tool for improving driving performance of novice drivers.