NHTSA Wants Your Take: Phones Stealing Focus on Roads?
Published Date: 3/6/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants your thoughts on a new study about how using personal electronic devices distracts drivers. This one-time research will help improve road safety and needs approval before it starts. If you’re interested, send your comments by May 5, 2026—no cost to you, just your voice!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Part I participants get $120 honorarium
If you take part in Part I (the occlusion study in the Washington, DC area) you will be paid a $120 honorarium when you finish. Part I plans for up to 56 final participants and the Part I test procedures take about 115 minutes per participant.
Part II pays $120 and uses overbooking
If you take part in Part II (the closed-course track near Salt Lake City, Utah) you will be paid $120. Sessions are double-booked so two people may be invited to the same session but only one will complete the driving tasks; both invited people are paid $120.
Time burden: 531.4 total study hours
The study is a one-time collection with estimated total burden of 531.4 hours: Part I totals about 139 hours and Part II about 392.4 hours. Per-participant procedures are about 115 minutes for Part I and about 160 minutes for Part II.
Strict eligibility limits for volunteers
To join the study you must meet many rules: be at least 18 years old for Part I or 21 years old for Part II, be familiar with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, have a valid driver’s license, drive at least 3,000 miles per year, have normal or corrected vision and hearing, be fluent in English, and be generally healthy. Businesses cannot participate.
Study collects eye-tracking and driving metrics
If you participate, researchers will record where you look (eye tracking), vehicle control data (lane position, speed, steering), task completion times, error rates, and questionnaire responses. These biometric and performance data will be analyzed to evaluate driver distraction.
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