Driving is one of the most demanding tasks most of us undertake every day. It requires concentration, observation, judgement and decision-making. Yet because we do it so often, it rarely feels that way.
Most journeys are completed without incident and familiar routes soon become routine. We leave home thinking about the meeting ahead, the school run, a conversation from the day before or the growing list of things we need to get done. Before we realise it, our attention is no longer fully on the road ahead. The challenge is that the road continues to demand our full attention whether we’re giving it or not.
Those who study, promote and teach road safety understand just how important concentration is behind the wheel. I wanted to explore what they believe more drivers should understand about maintaining that concentration.
Why Attention Drifts
Dr Shaun Helman, Chief Scientist: Behavioural Sciences at TRL, explained: “People don’t always stop concentrating deliberately. Because driving feels relatively ‘automatic’, the mind naturally drifts towards whatever feels important in that moment, whether that’s a work issue, a family concern or something else occupying our thoughts. The research doesn’t lie though – even something as simple as a hands-free phone conversation can slow a driver’s reactions by as much as being over the drink drive limit. This is the one thing I wish people understood about driving – you cannot do two things at once without your performance suffering.”
More Than Mobile Phones
Of course, our own thoughts aren’t the only things competing for our attention behind the wheel.
Dr Michelle Rayner-Gray, Senior Road Safety Officer at Suffolk County Council, explained: “Many distractions feel harmless because they’re part of everyday life. While most of us are aware of the negative consequences associated with mobile phone use, anything which takes our focus from the road can be detrimental to our driving performance. Something as simple as talking to passengers or thinking about work or personal issues can be distracting, and while we believe we’re still paying attention to the road, our focus has been divided, and we’ve added to our cognitive load. It’s easy to underestimate the effect of this because driving is such an automated task, but when faced with a more challenging driving environment we may be less able to deal with it safely.”
Understanding why our attention drifts is only part of the picture. The next challenge is recognising just how many everyday distractions compete for our attention before we even realise it. Maintaining concentration also begins before a journey starts. Giving ourselves enough time, reducing unnecessary distractions and planning breaks on longer journeys all help create the conditions that allow us to focus on the road ahead.
Maintaining Concentration
Ian Slater, Chief Observer at Norwich and Norfolk Advanced Motorists (NNAM), offered a practical perspective: “Maintaining concentration is one of the most important aspects of safe driving. Good drivers are constantly gathering information, anticipating what might happen next and adjusting to an environment that is changing all the time. Roadcraft, the police driver’s handbook, puts it simply: concentrate on the driving task in hand. That means keeping your attention on the constantly changing road environment rather than on distractions, emotions or time pressures. The better your observation, the more time you give yourself to recognise hazards, make sound decisions and keep yourself and other road users safe.”
Why It Matters
One thing these conversations reinforced is that control is about more than steering, braking and positioning a vehicle on the road.
As the majority of drivers will recall, the Highway Code requires drivers to remain in proper control of their vehicle at all times, but what does that really mean? Most of us probably think about having our hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road. We perhaps spend less time thinking about where our attention really is. Yet, arguably, control also depends on attention – having your mind on the road too. Through my work, I’ve seen the consequences when attention is diverted at the wrong moment. In reality, these can arise from decisions or distractions that seemed entirely insignificant at the time.
Most people understand the risks and few would deliberately put themselves or others in danger. Yet distractions rarely present themselves in those terms. More often, they appear as something that feels brief, routine or important in the moment. Mobile phones provide an obvious example and, as Dr Helman highlights, even hands-free conversations can affect concentration and reaction times. The same can be true of fatigue, time pressures, conversations inside the vehicle or thoughts that occupy our mind as we travel home from work. Sadly, a lapse in concentration that may last only seconds could result in an impact that remains with those involved for months, years or even a lifetime.
Perhaps the question is not whether we ever lose concentration while driving. Most of us probably do. The more important question is whether we recognise the habits, distractions or circumstances that make it more likely.
As the contributors to this article have highlighted, maintaining concentration is not something we can take for granted. It requires conscious effort. The best drivers recognise that concentration isn’t something that simply happens. It’s something they actively protect throughout every journey.
Safer Roads East is a thought leadership series led by Steve Stratton and Ellisons’ Injury Services Team, bringing together voices from across the East of England to explore road safety issues and share practical insights.
