Most drivers believe that once they put the phone down, or stop speaking to a passenger, their attention is back on the road. Yet, research into what is known as ‘attention residue’ shows a driver’s mind can remain partly tied to a task for a noticeable stretch following that task, even when hands are on the wheel and eyes on the road.
The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Hetbert, says, this is part of cognitive distraction that fleet operators often overlook. “Conversations about distracted driving usually focus on the moment of distraction itself. Less attention is paid to the recovery period afterwards.
“When the brain is still processing the interrupted thought while simultaneously trying to re-engage with driving, full attention has not yet returned to the road. A portion of attention is still occupied by the distraction. Depending on how demanding that task was, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes for full focus to return.”
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