Mindfulness, inattention and performance in a driving simulator

Abstract

The following study will explore the link between mindfulness, driver inattention and a number of driving performance variables that were tested using the SIMUVEG driving simulator. 67 subjects between the ages of 19 and 27 completed the mindful attention awareness scale, attention-related driving errors scale and attention-related cognitive errors scale questionnaires, and were evaluated in two driving performance measures: time to line-crossing and mean speed. The results did not show a correlation between driving performance and mindfulness measures; they did show low but significant correlations with driver inattention measures. A regression analysis suggested that the specific measure of driver inattention is a predictor of driving performance, but the more general measures are not. These results are relevant to the assessment of psychological variables associated with driving performance.